We are pleased to announce Bloomberg Nursing PhD candidates Kristine Newman and Sheila O’Keefe-McCarthy are the recipients of 2012 Graduate Scholarships, and Winnie Sun was awarded a research grant from the Nursing Research Interest Group (NRIG) of the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario (RNAO).
“I am honoured to receive the graduate scholarship and thank NRIG for their support of my PhD studies,” said Newman.
O’Keefe-McCarthy echoed her sentiments adding, “Support and acknowledgement from the RNAO regarding the importance of my research is very gratifying.”
Key criteria for the award includes scholarship and academic potential, ability to work with others, leadership potential, nursing expertise and professional involvement.
Newman’s background is in rehabilitation nursing, nursing education and professional practice. Under the supervision of Dr. Diane Doran, her current area of study examines how a nurse’s perception of his/her problem-solving abilities, context and personal characteristics affects the relationship between the non-routineness of a task and how the nurse seeks information or uses accumulated knowledge.
O’Keefe-McCarthy’s program of study involves improving pain-related care for acute coronary syndrome (ACS) survivors. Working with Dr. Michael McGillion, her PhD dissertation examines the relationship of cardiac pain and related anxiety for rural ACS patients and current pain management practice. “I hope to build a program of research that is committed to producing the highest quality evidence to improve pain assessment and management for individuals with acute and chronic cardiovascular diseases,” said O’Keefe-McCarthy.
Sun was awarded the research grant for her work titled, “A Mixed methods study: Examining the relationship between therapeutic self-care and adverse events for home care clients in Ontario,” which is also being supervised by Doran. The purpose of this research study is to investigate the noted relationship and gain an understanding of the role of self-care in supporting home care safety in relation to chronic disease management. It will use a mixed methods approach to conduct both quantitative and qualitative research data to test the hypotheses about the causal relationships and provide insight into the safety problems related to therapeutic self-care.
“I am very appreciative of this generous research funding,” said Sun. “The NRIG’s financial support will help facilitate the successful implementation of my doctoral research, and contribute to the advancement of nursing research.”
The NRIG promotes the conduct and utilization of nursing research in Ontario through lobbying, funding, educating, collaborating and networking, with the goal to improve the health of people in Ontario.