Research & Scholarship Day

On September 25, the University of Saskatchewan (USask) College of Nursing hosted its’ third annual Research & Scholarship Day to highlight the incredible research and scholarship initiatives taking place at USask Nursing.  

The keynote address, Comparing Virtual Reality to Traditional Simulation: Impacts on Students’ Clinical Judgement and Skill Acquisition, was delivered by Dr. Cynthia Foronda (PhD, RN, CNE, CHSE, ANEF, FAAN), assistant dean for innovation and scholarship and professor of clinical at the University of Miami School of Nursing and Health Studies. 

In addition to the keynote speaker, there were student poster presentations, two panel discussions, and two PechaKucha presentations.

The first panel, Virtual Reality and the Future of Nursing Education, included Dr. Tania Kristoff (PhD), associate professor, undergraduate academic lead with USask College of Nursing, USask Nursing PhD Candidate Geneveave Barbo, and Ryan Banow, education technology coordinator with the Gwenna Moss Centre for Teaching and Learning.

The second panel, The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning and the Future of Nursing Education, included Dr. Melanie Hamilton (EdD), director with the Jane and Ron Graham Centre for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, USask College of Nursing Associate Professor Kathy Rodger, Tania Bergen, instructor with USask College of Nursing, and USask Nursing PhD Candidate Lisa McKendrick-Calder.

A PechaKucha presentation on virtual reality was given by Tina Shaw, provincial lab manager with USask College of Nursing and Dr. Tania Kristoff. The second presentation on the scholarship of teaching and learning was delivered by Anne Hyde, lecturer with USask College of Nursing.

With close to hundred people in attendance, the event was an excellent opportunity to highlight the nurse scientists conducting research and scholarship activities that are truly changing the future of nursing education.

“The Research & Scholarship Day was a great way to share all the wonderful work that is being done by faculty and students and to encourage collaboration among researchers,” said Dr. Louise Racine (PhD), USask College of Nursing associate dean research and graduate studies.

“After attending Dr. Foronda’s insightful keynote address and hearing from the panelists all the innovative work being done with virtual reality and the scholarship of teaching and learning, I walked away with such a positive sense of excitement about the future of nursing education and the confidence that the discipline of nursing and that our College in particular is well positioned to educate nurses that Saskatchewan and the world needs.”  

The day concluded with the presentation of student awards for best abstract in the Undergraduate, Masters, and Doctoral categories.

The Undergraduate Student Research Award was given to Zebib Araya for her submission entitled, “Digitizing the Past: Preserving Saskatchewan’s Nursing Education Legacy Through Undergraduate Research.”  The Masters Student Research Award recipient was Amanda McArthur for her work, “New Graduate Nurses’ Perspectives on Using Virtual Reality to Impact Clinical Reasoning”. The final award, the Doctoral Research Award, was presented to Comfort Nsiah for her work, “Experiences and Views of Older Adults Regarding Patient Advocacy in Acute Care Settings”.

The 2024 College of Nursing Research & Scholarship Day was hosted by the Nursing Unit for Research and Scholarship Excellence (NURSE).

To highlight the variety of research and scholarship activities taking place at the College of Nursing, a USask Nursing Research and Scholarship Snapshot booklet is updated annually.