February 2024

Kirby Leigh Baker, RN, BSN, MSN, AG-ACNP

I chose nursing as my major for job security and the ability to experience a multitude of options without having to change careers or degrees was extremely appealing. Currently, I am co-chair of the DSO (Doctoral Student Organization).

In the future, I will continue to work as a nurse practitioner on the heart and lung transplant team at Johns Hopkins and hope to expand into a leadership role after completing the DNP program.

On a personal note, I have a dog named Ginny (as in Ginny Weasley from Harry Potter). Honestly, I don’t have any spare time. I have a three-year-old, work full-time and am in the DNP program. These activities and more keep me busy.

Advice to new students is to find a healthcare institution that values education and has tuition benefits. I was able to have my MSN and now DNP almost completely paid for by my employer.

Sending out a Hip Hip Hooray to these folks for

hitting 2024 on a high note

Publication

Berish, Diane., Kuzmik, Ashley. E., & Boltz, Marie. (2024). Behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia and adverse patient outcomes post-hospitalization. Aging & Mental Health. The link to the article can be found HERE

Research Award

Hackenberger, Abbygale & Birriel, Barbara. (2024). Examining the Impact of Intensive Care Unit Diary Programs on Critical-Care Nurses. American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN). $49,999

Finding funding opportunities shouldn't be difficult

• You can easily find research opportunities using Funding@PennState.
• NIH has a Central Resource for Grants and Funding Information at

Find Grant Funding

• HRSA has a user-friendly sight at HRSA Grant Funding

To help manage your external award finances, please look into the myResearch Portal. For those of you with internal funding, you may need to coordinate with the finance office in the college that has that funding account. Feel free to reach out to the CNR with additional questions you may have.

Join us for this year’s Inspirational Speaker Series featuring Dr. Daniel Pesut, PhD, RN, FAAN, Emeritus Professor of Nursing, University of Minnesota and Indiana University, School of Nursing. Dr. Pesut is globally recognized for his leadership legacy contributions to nursing, STTI established the International Daniel J. Pesut Spirit of Renewal Award in his honor.

Dr. Pesut will deliver his lecture titled “Principles and Practices of Legacy Leadership” followed by a Q&A. The event will wrap up with a reception and poster presentation by current WE LEAD students. 

Hosted on March 15, 2024, from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m., attendees are invited to join us in-person at the Wyndham Garden State College at the Mountain View Country Club or via livestream. Advanced registration is required and 1.5 contact hours are available. 

For more information and to register, visit: https://www.nursing.psu.edu/event/we-lead-inspirational-speaker-series/

Center for Nursing Research Office provides an organized infrastructure designed to support graduate research faculty and their interdisciplinary teams throughout the various stages of their projects, from preparing proposals and obtaining funding to disseminating results in peer-reviewed journals and at national and international conferences. If you have any questions use the resource list below.