CPH Experience

Nursing students help underserved communities get their kids back-to-school ready

Shayla Brown — Wed, 14 Aug 2024 17:05:19 +0000

Nursing students help underserved communities get their kids back-to-school ready Shayla Brown Wed, 08/14/2024 - 13:05

��AV’s Mason and Partners (MAP) Clinic holds free clinics throughout Northern Virginia every day. This summer, two of those community-based clinics helped local elementary school students get back-to-school ready.

School of Nursing students at the MAP Clinic in the Population Health Center. Photo by Shayla Brown

Managed by practitioners in the College of Public Health, the clinics offer uninsured school-aged children and other underserved communities essential health services. They also allow undergraduate nursing students, including MSN Family Nurse Practitioner and Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) students, as well as graduate psychology, social work, health informatics and administration students among others, to complete Community Health Clinical requirements in a meaningful way.

George Mason’s School of Nursing ran the first clinic on June 21, where 38 ABSN and four nurse practitioner students were working, and the second on July 19, where 28 ABSN and three nurse practitioner students were working. In total, 45 families brought their children to receive vaccines and physical examinations.

“The clinics are a different side of nursing. The families are so sweet and grateful for everyone who’s there,” said ABSN student Kaleigh O’Keefe.

The MAP Clinic collaborates with many community partners throughout the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area including Fairfax County Public Schools, Manassas City Public Schools, Manassas Park City Schools, Prince William County Schools, Refugee Resettlement Agencies, Fairfax United Methodist Church, Inova Alexandria Hospital, and non-profits across the region.

School of Nursing faculty providing medical care to a student in the Population Health Center. Photo by Shayla Brown

School nurses, school-parent liaisons, refugee resettlement case managers, and caregivers from these various locations reach out to MAP Clinic administration to schedule appointments for students.

“Many of these families are long-term patients who we’ve been seeing at our MAP Clinics for years now,” said Kenneth Frese, director of clinical operations in the School of Nursing.

The clinics are able to address a variety of communities and health issues such as general health, pediatrics, and substance abuse, said O’Keefe. Nursing students rotate through all of the specialties.

The clinics collaboration with Inova comes in the form of the Inova Cares Clinic for Families, which allows patients that need to be closely monitored to receive care from Inova for a discounted rate based on income.

“I had a patient whose blood pressure was really high, which in children is typically caused by some type of kidney problem, so we tested his urine and there was a high protein count, which can indicate kidney damage,” explained O’Keefe. “We sent him to Inova where he was officially diagnosed, though he still comes back to the MAP Clinic to follow up with us sometimes.”

Nursing students also collaborated with students and faculty from George Mason’s Department of Social Work throughout the MAP clinics.

Amy Joyner with backpacks that were donated to the children at the MAP clinic. Photo by Shayla Brown

“Social work was a big part of the work we were doing. A lot of our job was ––communicating with those students,” Isabelle Kahng, an ABSN student who will be doing a neuro-ICU practicum for the MedStar Health Future Nurse Program partnership.

“It was our responsibility to relay the patient’s information to the provider, as well as the social workers, so that we could work together in getting the resources the patients need,” said Kahng.

“Bonding with these kids is my favorite part,” said O’Keefe. “They’re just so happy to be there, and being there to help them thrive is everything.”

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Kenneth Frese

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Learning Laboratory for Community Health prepares graduate students to solve real-world public health challenges

Taylor Thomas — Wed, 05 Jun 2024 15:55:33 +0000

Learning Laboratory for Community Health prepares graduate students to solve real-world public health challenges Taylor Thomas Wed, 06/05/2024 - 11:55

The Learning Laboratory for Community Health at ��AV held the first in-person Learning Lab Challenge at the Inaugural Empowered Communities Conference. For the challenge, graduate research assistants (GRAs) were tasked with developing an intervention that addressed the very real public health issue of opioid use disorder among adolescents and young adults.

Over the semester, GRAs worked in interdisciplinary teams, with community stakeholders providing insights into their research process and conducting interviews with affected youth and families to determine how to best meet the community's health needs.

Ashley Wiest

“We were excited to showcase student milestones achieved, challenges overcome, and collective triumphs that define our community journey toward a healthier, more equitable future,” said Ashley Wiest, a research faculty member in the College of Public Health and the Learning Lab project coordinator.

The challenge concluded with GRAs presenting their interventions to a panel of experts, who evaluated and selected the intervention that will be implemented at the Mason and Partners (MAP) clinics. The experts included

Kadhambari Sridhar, Community Preparedness Coordinator at the Fairfax County Health Department;
Jennifer Felts, Population Health Epidemiologist specializing in substance use and mental health; and
Shannyn Snyder, an adjunct faculty in the Department of Global and Community renowned for her expertise in socioeconomic disparities and social justice issues.

Under the guidance of Lisa Gring-Pemble, an associate professor in the Costello College of Business, the winning intervention, titled "Club Culmore: A Place-Based Wellness Model for Adolescents and Young Adults," was designed by three GRAs:

Shams Hadi Al Jassar, biology major and pre-medical student
Olivia Hutton, Master of Health Administration student
Eyesha Shaikh, Master of Social Work student

Shams Hadi Al Jassar

Olivia Hutton

Eyesha Shaikh

Club Culmore presents a comprehensive seven-step approach to wellness. From mental health services to tailored social media campaigns, workforce skill development, and a dedicated medication-assisted treatment (MAT) clinic, this innovative proposal promises to address the opioid epidemic through community collaboration and tailored services for at-risk youth.

“It was rewarding to celebrate the transformative impact our Mason students have had on the landscape of community health. Their dedication, resilience, and unwavering commitment to excellence have enhanced their individual growth and enriched our community,” said Wiest.

The Learning Lab was created with support from a $1 million Health Services Research grant, made possible by Congressman Gerry Connolly of Virginia's 11th District, who shepherded the proposal through Congress. Rebecca Sutter serves as the grant's project director and principle investigator. The mission of the Learning Laboratory is to support multidisciplinary training for public health students and professionals, with special attention to marginalized communities within Northern Virginia.

The Learning Lab’s impact on students and the community

Since its inception, the Learning Laboratory has been highly successful. In the second year of the lab, students reported the lab

increased their knowledge of community stakeholders,
increased confidence in discussing core public health topics, and
significantly improved their critical thinking skills related to community health, networking and research, problem-solving, and professional development.

“The Learning Lab is dedicated to equipping students with the multifaceted skills essential for success in the workforce after graduation. Our teaching models foster proficiency in research, interviewing, data collection, administrative tasks, and community resource utilization alongside technological competencies, thus nurturing a generation of adept community health professionals,” said Wiest.

Read the Lab’s 2023-24 Impact Report.

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Shannyn Snyder, MAIS

Ashley Wiest, DNP, FNP-BC

Rebecca Sutter, DNP, APRN, BC-FNP

Lisa M. Gring-Pemble

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Ageism research helped prepare these social work grads for the workforce

Shayla Brown — Tue, 21 May 2024 20:42:16 +0000

Ageism research helped prepare these social work grads for the workforce Shayla Brown Tue, 05/21/2024 - 16:42

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Emily Ihara, PhD, MSW, FGSA

While working on their master’s degrees in social work at ��AV, College of Public Health alumni Kendall Barrett, Madeline Holden, and Harveen Pantleay took part in field research on ageism in health care and are now using those skills in their careers.

They are also co-authors on the paper “’Don’t treat us like fragile babies:’ Mentors’ perspectives of an intergenerational mentoring program for medical students,” which was published online in the Journal of Intergenerational Relationships in February 2024.

��AV is a leader in graduating workforce-ready students, and its College of Public Health—the first in Virginia—is dedicated to helping meet the critical need for health workers in Virginia.

Kendall Barrett. Photo provided.

The three, working under the guidance of Emily Ihara, professor and chair of the Department of Social Work, and co-PI of George Mason’s Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program, studied the effects of ageism in health care and how both education and intergenerational contact can decrease this form of discrimination. As the students learned, the research improves empathy and understanding from both younger and older individuals within the health care system.

For the study, the students went to assisted living facilities to interview residents using open-ended questions and took detailed notes.

“This was a very important research project to me because there was a lot of focus on alternative and creative ways to support older people, which is a particular interest of mine,” said Barrett, MSW ’22, who was paired with Ihara as a student research assistant at George Mason’s Social Work integrated Research Lab (SWiRL).

“It was very interactive, and we were trying to show that we heard them and that their contribution was important,” said Barrett, who is now works as a psychotherapist with people of all ages.

Harveen Pantleay. Photo provided.

“I was really nervous in the beginning because we were going into somebody's private space and didn't always know what [to expect], but it ended up being a wonderful experience and great for my own personal growth about sitting with things that can be uncomfortable,” said Barrett.

Both the George Mason students and the older adults benefitted from the Senior Mentor Program approach, and Ihara said the college hopes to expand it to other health professional students.

“One of the biggest things that I took away from my time in George Mason’s social work program was seeing people as individuals before you see whatever their struggle is,” said Barrett.

Pantleay, MSW ’22, also worked alongside Barrett and Ihara in SWiRL and was involved in many projects specifically focusing on gerontology.

“I gained a lot of valuable knowledge about qualitative data and how to classify that data into categories [through] analyzing the data and identifying what codes would be associated with the responses that were given by the mentors and participants,” said Pantleay.

Pantleay’s favorite part about the research project was learning about gerontology as it was a part of social work that she did not have much experience in at the time, she said.

Madeline Holden. Photo provided.

“A lot of what I learned through the work and research in SWiRL wasn't covered in my classes necessarily, so this experience allowed me to learn a lot more about this community and the negative effects of ageism in health care,” said Holden, MSW ’22.

“I think the main takeaway from the research is that people make a lot of assumptions about older adults that they shouldn’t,” said Holden, who also conducted clinical research for Inova Hospital for three years before enrolling for her master’s of social work at George Mason.

Holden said now uses her experience from this project in her work at an affordable housing corporation. “I work with all ages, including seniors, providing wraparound services to them. The empathy and understanding the team had for their participants throughout this project was great practice for that.”

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Department of Social Work

Research

Healthcare Workforce Development

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Mason public health student’s research will improve the postnatal outcomes of mothers of color

Shayla Brown — Mon, 04 Dec 2023 18:52:42 +0000

Mason public health student’s research will improve the postnatal outcomes of mothers of color Shayla Brown Mon, 12/04/2023 - 13:52

��AV graduate student Archana Vardhan was one of 20 students nationwide selected for a summer fellowship through the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs (AMCHP) called the Graduate Student Epidemiology Program. Her area of expertise is the mental and physical health of postnatal mothers of color.

“There have been research studies on prenatal mothers, but not much data is available for postnatal mothers,” said Vardhan, who is working on a master of public health degree in the College of Public Health. “I look at the challenges [Black and African mothers] face—discrimination and other barriers—and what education models can be provided to them for their optimum health and mental peace.”

Vardhan, who is also a mother to two small children, said the education models created for the postnatal mothers will include how they can take care of themselves after delivery, what herbal remedies can be used in addition to the treatment if they have any medical problems, and how they can advocate for themselves.

In addition to her graduate studies, Vardhan, who is originally from India and came to Virginia in 2013, works full-time as a clinical research specialist at Inova Health System.

Archana Vardhan. Photo provided.

For her fellowship, she was assigned to work with a health department in Portland, Oregon, where her role included developing a survey about maternal well-being and designing an education program.

“We built a questionnaire, which had a very good response from [around] 110 mothers. Then we did a qualitative analysis. My role was to design the survey and do the qualitative analysis and build an education model on whatever results I get from the survey,” she explained.

Vardhan also enrolled in the summer Global and Community Health (GCH) course GCH 609: Community Assessment and Partnership with assistant professor Marybeth Mitcham, where the coursework perfectly aligned with the responsibilities of her fellowship, she said.

“This course covers what I consider to be some of the most important factors in conducting any community work,” said Mitcham, “[including] the value of involving community members in every step of community work and using an interdisciplinary strategy to address problems.”

The course explores needs assessments, crafting effective surveys, focus group questions, and more, using examples of actual community work, said Mitcham, who is also director of the online MPH program.

Mitcham aims to incorporate students' interests in the classroom so that they can explore topics that are relevant to them. For GCH 609, Vardhan used her research from her summer fellowship and her work at Inova as the basis for her assignments.

“One of my favorite things about [the college] is that students are supported not just in their education and research, but in exploring potential solutions to problems about which they care,” said Mitcham. “Archana is fabulous, and I can't wait to see the amazing positive changes that will occur to the holistic health of postnatal mothers of color as a result of Archana's drive, passion, and excellence.”

Although her fellowship has ended, Vardhan still does volunteer work with AMCHP and is in constant contact with her site supervisor. AMCHP also has a program called Healthy Birth Initiatives that will benefit from Vardhan’s work.

“In the end, it is the mother who is taking care of the baby, so now after giving birth they can be taken care of too. The biggest takeaway is that postnatal care for Black mothers should be culturally sensitive, inclusive, and tailored to address the unique challenges they face,” said Vardhan.

“By focusing on these key areas, health care providers and policymakers can work toward improving the health and well-being of Black mothers and their babies. Mothers are dealing with a huge crisis in terms of emotional [health], especially mothers of color,” she said.

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Health Informatics Student Develops 5G-Enabled Telemedicine Technology

John Brandon Cantrell — Wed, 01 Dec 2021 21:44:11 +0000

Health Informatics Student Develops 5G-Enabled Telemedicine Technology John Brandon C… Wed, 12/01/2021 - 16:44

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CPH Experience

Patricia Tran integrates innovation and clinical experience as summer intern with Commonwealth Cyber Initiative

Tran's research as a CCI intern allowed her to create 5G-enabled wearable technology to detect Atrial fibrillation and support clinical decision making.

Patricia Tran, an alumna of Mason's Honors College, recognized the essential roles cybersecurity and health informatics have in health care while working as a nurse. Tran’s first-hand experience with electronic health record (EHR) systems sparked her interest in how new technology could enhance health care organizations’ telemedicine services. She is now pursuing a Master of Science in Health Informatics at Mason, where she integrates her passion for health care and technology to defeat digital threats that compromise the access and quality of care patients receive.

“In a field where every second matters, high latency and poor connectivity can have detrimental effects,” says Tran, who is interested in the way 5G-enabled technology can improve the telemedicine infrastructure. “5G has the potential to address these challenges and transform telemedicine.”

Tran pursued her interest in 5G during the summer of 2021 as one of the first summer interns at Commonwealth Cyber Initiative (CCI). CCI is a Virginia organization with a mission to establish the state as a global leader in cybersecurity while supporting world-class research and preparing future generations for careers in cybersecurity.

“Throughout the summer, we developed a proof-of-concept design for 5G-enabled telemedicine, incorporating RaspberryPi, Apple Watch health data, cloud computing, and OpenEMR to detect Atrial fibrillation and support clinical decision making in real-time,” says Tran.

Developers could also expand Tran’s research on wearable device technology to detect other ailments--a result of her passion for creating innovative, amendable solutions to enhance the quality-of-care patients receive.

Tran and her research team discovered that the current telemedicine infrastructure is not fully-equipped to handle the nuances of Internet of Things (IoT) technology, which are devices that connect to cloud services to access information. She believes that her 5G-enabled technology research can help overcome these obstacles by providing stronger connectivity, enhanced security, and faster speeds to telemedicine technology.

“In health care, 5G is still a relatively new technology and could have tremendous impacts on telemedicine and care delivery, so our research addresses these opportunities for advancement as well as challenges that may arise,” says Tran.

Tran’s clinical background as a nurse, coursework knowledge from her program, and strong work ethic helped her succeed throughout the internship. The many skills she gained throughout the health informatics program, such as database management, data analysis, and programming, allowed her to successfully work with real-world applications in health care.

The CCI internship inspired Tran to encourage other students to pursue research initiatives that interest them. “Research in general can be overwhelming at times, but with the right attitude, you might be surprised at how much you can learn and discover,” says Tran.

Tran aims to work with a leading EHR system as a developer or analyst after graduating with her master’s degree in health informatics to continue discovering innovative ways to address health care technological problems.

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Nursing students help underserved communities get their kids back-to-school ready

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Learning Laboratory for Community Health prepares graduate students to solve real-world public health challenges

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Ageism research helped prepare these social work grads for the workforce

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Mason public health student’s research will improve the postnatal outcomes of mothers of color

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Patricia Tran integrates innovation and clinical experience as summer intern with Commonwealth Cyber Initiative