Akron Children’s Hospital selects 2020 Nurse Research Scholars

10-22-2020 (Akron, Ohio )

Four of Akron Children’s Hospital’s nurses have been selected as the hospital’s 2020 Nurse Research Scholars.

The Nurse Research Scholar Program prepares nurses to participate in the hospital’s research mission by increasing their knowledge and application of research through planning, conduct, dissemination and translation of study results into practice. This experience provides an opportunity for professional growth and development in the area of research.

Selected were:

• Ann Stratton, CNP, MSN, RN, Lead Advanced Practice Provider, Hematology/Oncology, of Lakewood;
• Amber Miller, BSN, RN, Staff Nurse, Akron Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, of New Franklin;
• Angela Gohlke, MSN, RN, Assistant Nurse Manager, School Health Services, of Canal Fulton; and
• Shelley Sidora, MSN, RN, Coordinator of Clinical Education, Akron Children’s St. Joe’s Special Care Nursery in Warren, of Niles.

Stratton’s research interest is on the use of simulation to improve advanced practice provider ability to deliver difficult information to patients and families. Evidence supports that poor delivery of bad news has long-term effects on the way a patient perceives providers, the information being conveyed, and patient and family anxiety. Improving this skill for the advanced practice provider helps facilitate improved patient relationships and improve patient satisfaction with the care that they receive. Stratton’s experience as a nurse practitioner giving patients and families devastating news led her to want to study this topic.

Gohlke, Miller and Sidora will be part of a study team led by Dr. Boebel Toly, PhD, RN, CPNP, associate professor at the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, Case Western Reserve University, and Aris Eliades, PhD, RN, director of Nursing Research and Evidence-based Practice at Akron Children’s Hospital. The study will examine the effectiveness of a Resourcefulness Training Intervention (RTI©) designed for parent caregivers of children dependent on medical technology (mechanical ventilation, feeding tubes) on the parents’ psychological and physical outcomes and self-management behaviors (sleep, positive health practices) over a nine-month period.

Since the program’s inception in 2009, 19 Nurse Research Scholars have contributed to the hospital’s research mission by completing research studies. This year’s Scholars are continuing the program’s legacy of advancing nursing science through discovery of new knowledge that can guide professional nursing practice innovation and improvement.