Christina Dempsey, DNP, MBA, RN, CNOR, CENP, FAAN
Press Ganey Associates, LLC.  

What advice would you give your younger self?
Don't be afraid to take calculated risks

Sandra Weiss, PhD, RN, FAAN
University of California San Francisco, School of Nursing

What advice would you give your younger self?
Identify what brings you the most joy and meaning in your work. It can be tempting to be drawn into projects or positions where others tell you you're needed or they say you have particular talents. But this can distract you from a career trajectory that may ultimately be your greatest source of contribution and satisfaction in life. It's important to make clear decisions about your priorities and stay in charge of your career.

Where is your favorite vacation spot? 
My favorite spot is anywhere in nature where I'm surrounded by wildlife, large powerful trees, vocal birds, and foliage of all kinds. The beauty and peacefulness of nature always help me 'vacate' and revive my soul!

Roy L. Simpson, RN, DNP, FNAP, FAAN, FACMI
Emory University Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing

What advice would you give your younger self?
Get your doctorate before SS benefits and Medicare kick-in, but you are never too late to get it.

Where is your favorite vacation spot?
Provincetown, MA.

Cindy Munro, RN, ANP-BC, PhD, FAAN, FAANP, FAAAS
University of Miami School Of Nursing And Health Studies

What advice would you give your younger self?
Savor every experience along the way! And remember that relationships are the most important aspect of your professional and personal life; your relationships are the key to success.

Where is your favorite vacation spot?
Anywhere on or near the water- particularly anywhere we can stay on our boat, Tonic. 

Almost one year into the COVID-19 pandemic, Americans are showing their support for placing a high priority on improving our nation’s public health system. 73% of Americans say the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed that major changes are needed in our public health system, including more funding. You can view the results of the survey here.

Source: https://www.researchamerica.org/public-health-2020

Jean Davis, PhD, RN, FAAN
University of South Carolina

What advice would you give your younger self?
Learn to say "no" to those things that aren't important to you.

Where is your favorite vacation spot?
Coronado Island, San Diego, CA

Jerry Mansfield, Ph.D., R.N., NEA-BC
Mount Carmel Health System

What advice would you give your younger self?
Balance your desire for important work and commitment with a focus on family and relationships; one cannot live without the other.

Where is your favorite vacation spot?
Any place that includes a beach, sand and palm trees.

Victoria Niederhauser, DrPH, RN, PPCNP-BC, FAAN
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville

What advice would you give your younger self?
Follow your passion, seek first to understand, and balance action with patience.

Where is your favorite vacation spot?
Hawaii! I had the great fortune to live in Hawaii for 22 years and love returning to the islands to visit friends and my favorite places.

What made you want to pursue a career in nursing?
From the time I can remember, I wanted to be a nurse. I think this decisive career pathway was developed through the role models in my life. My grandfather was a surgeon, my mom a physical therapist and my aunt was a pediatric nurse. In the 1950’s my aunt left Babies Hospital in New York City to become a nurse in Alaska. She travel throughout the state, lived in rural villages, and started her own business to help people do a better job of parenting children. She lived a life of personal and professional adventure; her stories and experiences inspired me to want that kind of career and life for myself. Early in my career, I came to realize the impact nurses can have on children and families. And I loved the tremendous resilience that children have managing and coping with illness. When I became a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, I knew that I could influence the health and well-being of children and families through my wellness teaching and guidance. What could be more gratifying than setting a child on the right path to a life of health and wellness? Throughout out my entire career opportunities to take amazing roles presented themselves to me, like becoming a nurse educator. After I completed my Master’s degree and pediatric nurse practitioner program (PNP), I traveled across the country and ended up in Hawaii. Initially, I was seeking a position as a PNP, but no positions were open (at that time, only 2 PNP were employed on the islands). I happened to see an ad in the newspaper for a nursing faculty at the University of Hawaii, I interviewed and was hired on the spot! After my first semester teaching eager nursing students, I realized that I really enjoyed the privilege of influencing the next generation of nurses. The autonomy of the position, the ability to be creative, and the variety of the work day also were very appealing to me. Within 6 months of starting to teach nursing, I was hired as a part-time PNP and continued to practice as a PNP and have a faculty appointment throughout my career.

Pamela Johnson, MS, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN
Mayo Clinic

What advice would you give your younger self?
Don't be so quick to have your life figured out. Opportunities & experiences happen when you least expect it. Have the courage to embrace them. 

Where is your favorite vacation spot?
Big Sky, Montana - My family has vacationed there since I was young. A tradition that continues with my 5 brothers and our families. 

Research!America 2020 Virtual National Health Research Forum
Straight Talk: Securing A Science-Strong Future
When: September 8-10

Topics include leading experts on the COVID-19 response, as well as special sessions looking at crucial topics such as COVID-19 vaccine development and vaccine confidence challenges, patient-centered research, health equity, clinical trials diversity, and the path to progress for diseases other than COVID-19. You can view the full agenda here.

Register here

FNINR Ambassador Applications are Now Open!

The Friends of the National Institute of Nursing Research is soliciting Ambassador applications for the 2021 cohort. This unique advocacy program began in 2014 and has grown to include over 30 Ambassadors.

FNINR Ambassadors will focus specifically on educating Congressional leaders as to the high-impact and cost-effective treatments and quality-of-life enhancements that emanate from nursing science. Ultimately, the goal is to increase research funding to ensure the training of scientists at a time of major scientific breakthroughs and to promote the NINR mission and strategy. 

NINR goals include improving the health of individuals, families, and communities through developing nurse scientists of the 21st century, and conducting research on health and illness, symptom management, wellness, chronic conditions, end-of life and palliative care, and innovation.

You can find more information about the organization and the commitments of the FNINR Ambassadors here.

Applications can be found here and are due on October 25, 2020.

Linda Norman, DSN, RN, FAAN
Vanderbilt School of Nursing

What advice would you give your younger self?
Start the research doctorate as soon as you complete the masters degree and start your research as early as possible.

Where is your favorite vacation spot?
Tortola, British Virgin Islands.

FNINR is proud to announce the 2020 Virtual NightinGala Keynote Speaker:

Connie White Delaney, PhD, RN, FAAN, FACMI, FNAP
University of Minnesota School of Nursing

What advice would you give your younger self?
Celebrate and trust the unique gift you are and meant to share in this life.

Where is your favorite vacation spot?
Nature in all forms and places.

Janie Heath PhD, APRN-BC, FAAN, FNAP, FAANP
University of Kentucky College of Nursing

What advice would you give your younger self?
Don’t take your academic nursing leadership career for advancing education, research and practice so serious – lighten up – breathe more- reflect more- laugh more- ENJOY a healthy balanced work-life MORE.

Where is your favorite vacation spot?
Daufuskie Island – a wonderful get away that FEW people know about – it is a beautiful historic 7 mile island that is a 45 minute ferry ride from Hilton Head, SC.  After the Civil War it became inhabited primarily by freed slaves – the book “The Ocean is Wide” by Pat Conroy tells a wonderful story about his work to integrate the Gullah children in the SC public school system. 

If you are interested in applying for the 2021 FNINR Board of Directors, please fill out this form.

Please send any questions to Liz Fossett, Executive Director, at [email protected]

Karen A Monsen, PhD, RN, FAMIA, FAAN 
University of Minnesota School of Nursing

Please describe your work with the COVID-19 pandemic. 
Together with 300+ participants from 10 countries and 35 states, I am leading the rapid development and deployment of encoded, evidence-based COVID-19 Response Guidelines. These guidelines are publicly available at omahasystemguidelines.org and are available in our Omaha System Guidelines App available now at iTunes (and in review by Google). This guideline synthesizes evidence from over 100 sources, primarily from CDC, WHO, and other highly credible organizations; within 90 interventions for 25 roles from triage to midwifery. We are actively updating the guideline as new evidence emerges, which is a constant challenge. This is a great opportunity for nurses, scientists, students, and community members to have a role and a voice in ensuring that we have a way to describe, disseminate, and document evidence-based care to defeat COVID-19. 

Please give us information about your background and history as a nurse scientist. 
My research uses standardized nursing data and systems to improve the quality of care in home visiting interventions and outcomes. This research has been informed by 20 years of experience as a public health nurse and manager. I have developed a novel practice-based research network based on standardized nursing terminology data through the University of Minnesota Center for Nursing Informatics. This Omaha System Partnership research has been conducted by multidisciplinary research teams and international research teams with student principal- or co-investigators and community partner principal- or coinvestigators. This work forms the basis for comparative effectiveness research, to shape policy in knowledge management, and to educate students in contemporary health care practices. This uniquely situated research blends clinical and scholarly perspectives, adding rigor to clinical processes and relevance to scholarly inquiry, which results in a powerful and sustained impact on health care quality. 

These are challenging times for healthcare professionals and scientists, and for the people and communities we serve. Likewise, we are experiencing insights, innovation, and a deeper sense of community. As a member of the FNINR community, please know that you have been in my thoughts.

The work you do and the work you support are critical, and are more important now than ever. Many in our communities are on the frontlines engaging with COVID-19, others supporting direct care givers, and others devoted to discovering safe practices, and all of us committed to expanding our knowledge and transformation of healthy communities.  FNINR is sharing your stories, stories of nurse scientists on the frontlines of the pandemic, advancing the health of communities. FNINR honors scientist heroes by telling their stories and by advocating for them at the federal level as we support the National Institute of Nursing Research.

Robin Austin, PhD, DNP, DC, RN-BC 
University of Minnesota, School of Nursing

Please describe your work with the COVID-19 pandemic.
This COVID-19 project is titled “Social Determinants of Health and COVID-19: Implementing Community Outreach Data Collection Tool to Engage Vulnerable Individuals with Low Socioeconomic Status and Inform Decision Makers on Needs of Population” using virtual outreach through web-based MyStrengths+MyHealthTM application. This project identifies and addresses the needs of this population to understand individual and community strengths, challenges, and needs (S-C-N) during the pandemic. We recognize there are multiple factors that influence individual and community health (i.e. social determinants of health); this often missing perspective is critical to provide a more complete picture of individual and community health. We will engage community voices and perspectives via a community advisory board to interpret and determine response to the data we collect.

Please give us information about your background and history as a nurse scientist.
My dissertation research highlighted the use of consumer-generated health data from the web-based health application, MyStrengths+MyHealth (MSMH). Along with my colleague and PhD advisor, Dr Karen Monsen, MSMH was developed to enable self-report of strengths, challenges, and needs using a simplified version of the Omaha System, a multi-disciplinary standardized health terminology. The feasibility and acceptability pilot test of the MyStrengths+MyHealth (MSMH) application at the Minnesota State Fair (2017) with over 380 participants was completed. The results showed it was feasible to collect participant self-report of strengths, challenges and needs data using MSMH. Participants found MSMH easy to use and liked the idea of being able to share health information from their own perspective and include strengths (assets) as part of that process. One of the most recent MSMH projects, Shifting the Opioid Conversation from Stigma to Strengths (S2S) showed that community members are interested in obtaining and using data that reveal a whole-person perspective, in order to facilitate communication and dialogue regarding opioid use disorder. This research provides a foundation to advance knowledge in the emerging field of whole-person strengths-based healthcare.