The sixth annual Translating Research to Innovations in Practice Symposium was held May 10-11 at The Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center.
The symposium welcomed 92 nursing faculty and professionals from Pennsylvania. The event was highlighted by keynote presentations: “Implementing a New Standard for Sexual Assault Care,” delivered by Sheridan Miyamoto, associate professor, and principal investigator for the SAFE-T Center and SSRI cofund; and “Delirium in Age – Friendly Care: Implementation of a 2-Step Delirium Detection and Management App,” delivered by Donna Fick.
Additional faculty and practicing Pennsylvania professionals’ presentations by on topics including sexual health, healthcare burnout, age-friendly care, wellness and the MINDSTRONG/MINDBODYSTRONG program.
Laurie Badzek, dean of the Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing, and Michele Szkolnicki, senior vice president and chief nursing officer at Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, provided remarks highlighting the importance of maintaining a strong relationship between the college and Penn State Health to advance innovation, quality improvement, and research collaborations.
A poster session was held for students, faculty and researchers to highlight their current work and to network with their peers. Poster awards were also presented, with first place going to Lisa Romberger, "Nursing Tales from the Bedside: The Impact of peer supported storytelling on nurse resilience"; second place to Megan Waite for "Introducing authors! Raising Journal Club to new heights"; and third place to Dana Kliewer, "Inpatient Screening for Social Determinants of Health: A Quality Improvement Initiative."
"The title of the symposium speaks to the purpose of gathering nursing professionals, faculty and students in order to share innovations in quality improvement and research that can then be translated into practice in various nursing and health care environments," said Kelly Wolgast, Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing associate teaching professor and assistant dean for Outreach and Professional Development. "This symposium is a great opportunity to showcase the broad range of innovative projects and studies that nurses and nursing students lead and contribute to improve the care of patients."
Symposium sponsors included the Pennsylvania State Nurses Association, Mount Nittany Health, Beta Sigma, the Penn State Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing and the Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. Next year’s 7th annual symposium conference will be held May 8-9, 2024, at the Hershey Lodge in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Information regarding the 2024 symposium will be available in mid-fall, with registration opening in January 2024. Please continue to check the college’s website for more details regarding this event. For more information, email nursece@psu.edu or call 814-863-2239.