“There are still millions of smokers in the US. If you can help those people stop smoking, you’re going to greatly improve not only their health and wellbeing but also the health and wellbeing of people who are exposed to their secondhand tobacco smoke," ~ Judith Gordon, PhD

Dr. Gordon and her research team are currently seeking people who want to stop smoking to take part in an innovative study to test two approaches to help people quit. The Be Smoke Free study is funded by the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health and seeks to test an integrative health approach to stopping smoking.

The Be Smoke Free program is provided by phone and text, with no in-person requirements. The program will provide six weekly sessions with a trained quit coach over the phone plus four weeks of nicotine patches or lozenges at no cost. Participants may also receive up to $100 for completing all study activities.  

“Because the Be Smoke Free program is delivered entirely remotely, there is tremendous potential to reach smokers wherever they are, whenever they’re ready,” said Dr. Gordon. “Plus, we provide robust support to smokers who are ready to quit for good.”

People interested in learning more about the Be Smoke Free program can visit the project website at: https://besmokefreestudy.org, email besmokefree@arizona.edu, or call 520-621-0458 for more information or to enroll in the program.

“It’s a feel-good mission,” Dr. Reed says, citing the positive patient outcomes he and Simpson were a part of. “It was great seeing the patients get through these procedures safely and comfortably, and then feeling the appreciation shown for the efforts of the medical and nursing team. The patients we saw have chronic conditions that would be hard to manage without Liga International.”

This is the first time UArizona Nursing representatives have taken part in the Liga International mission, but Dr. Reed hopes to expand the college’s participation in the future to three missions per year. In addition to the personal satisfaction he received from improving the lives of his patients, Dr. Reed is excited about the potential learning advancements for UArizona Nurse Anesthesia students.

“It was great seeing the patients get through these procedures safely and comfortably, and then feeling the appreciation shown for the efforts of the medical and nursing team. The patients we saw have chronic conditions that would be hard to manage without Liga International," ~ Associate Clinical Professor James Reed, DNP, MSN, BSN

“It’s important for the residents to get out of their comfort zone,” Dr. Reed says. “Many of them will be working in complete independent practices when they graduate. The innovation and the intellectual flexibility that’s required to do these things is value added for our residents’ educational experience.”

Amplifying that sense of innovation and flexibility, the Liga International mission came about because of the initiative of U.S. military veteran Haley Simpson. While volunteering at a University of Arizona-sponsored COVID vaccination clinic at the Douglas, Ariz. Point of Entry, Simpson coordinated the trip after meeting Liga International volunteer Ellen Paige, M.D. “Improving access to healthcare for underserved communities is very important to me,” Simpson says. “So, when I learned about Liga’s mission, I knew I had to present it to Dr. Reed.”

Dr. Reed, a Tucson native who is also a U.S. military veteran – a former Army medic deployed 12 times to war zones supporting counter-terrorism work – obtained his Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) in 1992 from Uarizona Nursing, making him a proud Wildcat Nursing alumnus, backed by 23 years as a certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA). He worked with UArizona Nursing professor Lisa Kiser, PhD, to successfully navigate the process of obtaining approval from the University for the Liga International trip, resulting in a private small aircraft trip across the Sonoran Desert to El Fuerte.

He and Simpson joined 25 other volunteers for two days of life-changing and life-enhancing surgeries for in-need patients. “The whole experience gave me an overwhelming sense of pride and it filled my heart with joy to be able to make such a great difference for so many people,” Simpson says. “Dr. Reed and I had to overcome several obstacles to ensure our patients received safe anesthesia and the volunteers in the Operating Room were not exposed to anything harmful.” 

The UArizona nurse anesthesia team quickly identified areas for improvement and decided it would be safest to avoid volatile agents due to lack of means for scavenging anesthesia gases. “Using all the skills I’ve learned so far, I formulated a plan to do most of the procedures via neuraxial anesthesia, MAC, or TIVA,” Simpson says.

During their two days in El Fuerte, Dr. Reed and Simpson delivered anesthesia for 22 patients between the ages of 18 months and 87 years old undergoing gynecologic, podiatry, and general surgery. “I felt very welcome in the community, and it was palpable how thankful the patients were for the service we were providing,” Simpson says, noting that many patients walked, rode the bus, and hitched rides on motorcycles to sleep outside of the clinic to receive lifechanging surgery the next morning.

Dr. Reed has high praise for his Mexican health care colleagues, who were able to bridge language barriers by alleviating any concerns with the patients and to obtain informed consent. “They were so appreciative of us being there and I think in a lot of ways they were learning from us, too,” he says. “The whole experience was beneficial for everybody that participated.”

As for the future, Dr. Reed hopes that this inaugural mission will open the doors for more involvement from UArizona Nursing. Ideally, he would like to organize three or four trips per year during the clinic’s operational period – the first weekend of each month between November and May. He envisions bringing three nurse anesthesia students and one faculty member per trip, although he hopes ultimately to be able to include BSN students and Advanced Practice Registered Nursing (APRN) students to assist with primary care and intake procedures.

Dr. Reed sees the mission as a differentiator between UArizona and other programs that adds value added to the student educational experience. “It's very exciting,” he says. “Our program is really fighting to create an entry level CRNA that can work anywhere independently, and that is focused on rural communities that lack access to anesthesia care. Having an experience like this where they have to innovate, all the while having a seasoned faculty member there with them to help guide them is one of the benefits of this activity."

Photos courtesy of Dr. James Reed

“I was up for a challenge and also I just wanted to really solidify my preexisting knowledge, especially since, when I’m going into the hospital, when I’m taking care of someone, I want to make sure that I’m actually up for the task and that I’m not messing anything up in terms of quality of care," ~ Kerry Chou, Fall 2022 BSN Graduate

Chou chose to pursue a career in nursing because he saw it as his fastest and most effective pathway to provide quality patient care. A consummate striver, he chose UArizona’s nursing program because of its reputation as being more rigorous than other programs. “I was up for a challenge and also I just wanted to really solidify my preexisting knowledge,” he says. “Especially since, when I’m going into the hospital, when I’m taking care of someone, I want to make sure that I’m actually up for the task and that I’m not messing anything up in terms of quality of care.”

During his time in the BSN program, Chou’s pivot to research has become his passion project. “My only critique in nursing is that unfortunately our health care system seems a bit reactionary, especially with our opioid epidemic,” he says, explaining that his experience treating overdoses in the hospital showed him how much of a drain of resources and manpower the issue can be from other patients.

In pursuit of the goal of promoting effective patient care while producing cutting edge research to combat unnecessary suffering in the clinical setting, Chou has been fortunate enough to connect with several professors who have been involved in helping him pursue a more in-depth inquiry into his field of interest.

He has worked with UArizona Nursing’s Jessica Rainbow, PhD on a project investigating nursing pain and practical prevention strategies in the clinical setting. He also worked with the UArizona Department of Pharmacology’s John Streicher, PhD in developing and testing a protein inhibitor that would be able to amplify the pain relief of opioids without changing side effects, which became the focus of his final thesis. “The goal of dose reduction is to give less opioids and therefore cause less respiratory depression while not compromising pain relief,” he says. “Hopefully this will help stop certain addictions from moving from the beside to the community.”

“Working with Kerry Chou has been an incredible honor,” Dr. Rainbow says. “Kerry is hardworking, organized, and brilliant. Kerry is always motivating teams to complete projects even when momentum for the project is lagging. He is willing to jump in to help with wherever tasks are needed. I am so proud of Kerry and thankful for all his dedication to our project on nurse pain.”

As for the future, Chou has secured a post-graduation position at the Minnesota Mayo Clinic, working in the neuro-intensive care unit. He’s also busy building connections and scouting for additional future research lab work that fits his interests. He says pursuing a PhD is likely on the table, although he’s not yet certain in it will be in nursing.

Asked about the advice he’d give to students considering following in his academic footsteps, Chou stresses the need to be proactive when pursuing research disciplines. “There are a lot of professors out there that are really kind and that really want you to succeed,” he says, noting that it’s important to reach out to instructors to receive as much training as possible.

As far as nursing in general, he advocates for the importance of taking care of one’s own mental health. “In order to produce the best care, we have to make sure we’re taking care of ourselves before we can take care of others,” he says.

Thinking back on his three and a half years at UArizona Nursing, Chou is grateful for all the opportunities and support he has had to delve into topics that he’s most passionate about. “There’s a lot more than just the surface-level knowledge,” he says. “If we want to know more about a topic, there’s an unbelievable number of things to continue looking into, reading, and researching up on. It’s OK to not know all there is to know. We just have to keep learning – that’s the fun of it."

“Israel stands out because it’s an innovation hub. Also, they have an integrated health care system that capture the data at the ecosystem level. We considered other countries as well but after we evaluated, we concluded that Israel was the best place to visit," ~ Shu-Fen Wung, PhD, MS, RN, ACNP-BC, FAAN

Drs. Wung, Roveda, and John Paul SanGiovanni from UArizona and Dr. Tavakolian from the University of North Dakota served on the C2SHIP-Israel delegation to learn more about the country’s healthcare innovations in care delivery and healthtech to help evaluate their suitability for introduction into United States markets. “We wanted to help their industry, but on the academic level we were establishing a strong collaboration between our universities and the top universities and institutes in Israel,” Dr. Wung says, noting that the bond could allow the collaborators to apply for funding together from the National Science Foundation (NSF), private foundations and individual donors interested in promoting in-home health care delivery.

The trip, which took place between September 8-18, brought the UArizona representatives to several innovation hubs, including Ichilov Medical Center. “The IMed works closely with healthcare professionals to develop technology that turns unmet needs into solutions,” Dr. Wung says. In addition to the advanced seamless hospital admissions technologies, one innovation that particularly impressed her was the 3-D printing technology to precicisely develop patient-specific custom medical implants for surgeries. “They’re able to anatomically map out one’s body parts, taking into consideration things like tumor mass and topology  to cause minimal destruction, in creating individualized orthopedic structures,” she says. “It was quite eye-opening how strong they were in innovation.”

Additionally, Dr. Wung and her colleagues toured Israel’s biggest insurance company, MaccabiHealthcare Systems, which has a strong clinical research division with connected health data and capacity for large-scale prospective data archiving and access for efficient analysis. They also visited the Holon Institute of Technology, which, she says, is the most relevant to nursing education and her research. “They’re also working on innovative teaching curriculum,” she says. “Not only are they training engineers but they’re immersing medical education into their training, with a goal of developing engineers who are well-versed in health technology.” The institute is slanted toward medicine, Dr. Wung says, but she sees it as an opportunity to bring a nursing voice to the discussion  if the University of Arizona and the Institute partner in submission of education grants.

Dr. Wung was particularly impressed with the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, which, unlike traditional art schools, has a focus on art and design that can impact healthcare settings, including music created to decrease stress and evaluating technology for better user experiences. “I’m familiar with using cognitive psychology to evaluate usability,” Dr. Wung says, “but using art and design is a promising future direction.  It was quite fun to see the artful projects they were working on that also incorporate AI in the design of healthcare technologies.”

During her time in Israel, Dr. Wung was impressed with how front and center technology was to the different companies and institutions she toured. She returned to Arizona excited about the new partnerships and eager to see how the nursing field could contribute to future innovations.

Currently, Dr. Wung and her colleagues in the College of Engineering and College of Agriculture & Life Sciences are meeting frequently with their Israeli partners. Drs. Wung and Roveda have also submitted a training grant that will be used to train students in new health technologies. “My goal is to make sure that any technology that’s developed has clinical relevance. And that it's user-centered, meaning they can’t just develop anything without considering who is using it, whether it’s a clinician, a patient, the family, or the caregiver. The goal is to make sure that the technology used will improve the quality and safety of their care.”

Dr. Wung is excited about how open and innovative the Israeli companies are, and how energetic they are about pushing care technology to the next level. “They do a good job of infusing disciplined knowledge into their design and viewing the technology as part of the daily environment. That’s really important because the U.S. is moving toward a holistic health concept of how your body and the environment are interconnected.”

“This honor shines a critical spotlight on the work we are doing at the College of Nursing and the University of Arizona Health Sciences. I’m hopeful outside interest will grow in supporting and creating systems of inclusive excellence that reshape how we connect with disenfranchised communities to promote community capacity and advance health equity," ~ Timian Godfrey, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC

Dr. Godfrey has more than 18 years of health care experience and teaches in the college’s Doctor of Nursing Practice program family nurse practitioner specialty. She is the project director for the nursing workforce diversity initiative at the college. Under her leadership, the initiative provides scholarship and success services to help cultivate a professional, cultural and academic identity for those with backgrounds underrepresented in nursing.

Joan L. Shaver, PhD, RN, FAAN, a professor in the College of Nursing, wrote one of Dr. Godfrey’s nominating letters. “I sponsored Timian Godfrey’s application for fellowship in the American Academy of Nursing out of recognition of her accomplishments in advancing equity and diversity here at the University of Arizona and beyond,” Dr. Shaver wrote. “Her leadership has propelled sustained strides in effectively diversifying, attracting and courting students, faculty and staff.”

Dr. Godfrey is the only Arizona inductee out of the 250 nurse leaders in the class of 2022. The newest fellows are leaders and experts in policy, research, administration, practice and academia who champion health and wellness locally and globally. They represent 17 countries, 35 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

“Arizona has such a rich cultural landscape, and elevating the voices of our communities to inform academic and research processes is what I aim to incorporate into my work,” Dr. Godfrey said. “Being an ethnic minority, mixed race (Navajo and Okinawan-Hawaiian) and first-generation college scholar has allowed me to integrate my life experience into my professional journey and provides a tremendous amount of motivation. A strong connection to my culture guides an intuitive nature that strives to understand and uplift underserved populations.”

“I am thrilled to celebrate with Timian her induction into the AAN because as a leader in our field of nursing, she has genuinely earned the recognition of her peers,” Dr. Shaver said. “As an elected fellow, by bringing her culturally informed and uniquely humble but sophisticated presence and voice, she will be a remarkable asset to the AAN.”

The AAN’s announcement of this year’s fellows noted that the selection committee received a record number of applications, a 30% increase from the previous year. Fellows are selected based on their contributions in advancing the public’s health.

“At a time when investments in, and policy to address, health equity, innovation and access are paramount, the academy is thrilled to welcome these dynamic and courageous nurse leaders who will support our collective vision of healthy lives for all people. Induction in the academy is a powerful moment in a nurse’s career,” said Kenneth R. White, PhD, AGACNP, ACHPN, FACHE, FAAN, president of the American Academy of Nursing. 

“Being in the Air Force Chaplaincy, a lot of what we do is counseling and having the ability to clinically recognize when there are issues going on that are beyond the spiritual issues that people deal with. I felt that by me having extra education I’d be making a better chaplain for the Air Force, but also within the community," ~ JP Prado, DNP PMHNP specialty student

We caught up with Prado recently to learn more about his nursing journey, his research focus and his hopes for a bright future.

What led you to pursue a career in nursing?

I started off in an ambulance when I was 18, handling 911 calls in L.A. I got my feet wet with that, but I went and pursued my ministry before nursing. Albert Schweitzer, an influential medical doctor and theologian whose books are a staple in modern seminary, felt that giving back was so important. He had an illustrious career as an academic and as a physician, and I thought early on that I would want to do something like that. I didn’t go to medical school, but for me it was the best way to tie it all together – connect the ambulance to the nursing and the nursing to the DNP, which I’ll be finishing here in December.

What drew you to the PMHNP Specialty?

Definitely mental health. Being in the Air Force Chaplaincy, a lot of what we do is counseling and having the ability to clinically recognize when there are issues going on that are beyond the spiritual issues that people deal with. I felt that by me having extra education I’d be making a better chaplain for the Air Force, but also within the community. I want to do what I can to make sure my kids have the best future in the areas that they’re going to live, so that they have a good chance of having successful, thriving lives.

What has been your favorite part of the program?

I love learning, so for me, anything that is going to challenge me, make me more informed to be able to think about unique situations better critically. The DNP program exposes you to a lot of that because it’s such a broad program. You learn so many things, from informatics to leadership to the specialties, and then the core requirements like pharmacology and pathophysiology. It's comprehensive and at the same time concentration focused. I think that’s probably what I enjoyed the most about it.

What was the focus of your Quality Improvement Project?

It was on smoking behaviors and treatment considerations to improve psychiatric provider knowledge. The reason that’s meaningful and unique is that in the community, particularly with vulnerable community members dealing with issues like schizophrenia, substance abuse or bi-polar disorders, the medications they’re prescribed that have high efficacy for treatment outcomes are significantly impacted on the pharmaco-dynamic level when they smoke cigarettes.

When you look at national trends of smoking, it’s gone down in the U.S., but smoking has an 80-90% prevalence with schizophrenics and people with bipolar disorders. When they smoke it decreases the efficacy of their medications because the smoke – it’s called a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon – causes the CYP450 enzyme to hyper metabolize in medication. They might be doing everything that they’re supposed to but they’re not improving because it can all come down to that little cigarette really throwing off the medication as much as 50% of it not having its intended clinical outcome.

I get to have a meaningful impact on immediate treatment outcome but also on the community, because people aren’t treated, they’re going to end up in the emergency room, they’re going to end up on the streets, so it does have a real impact.

What are your plans after you graduate this December?

I got hired at my clinical site where I did my Quality Improvement project, Bayless Integrated Healthcare here in Mesa. I applied for a post-doctoral research fellowship, so I’ll find out whether I was accepted for that in April of 2023. My goals are to move into doctoral level academia, so I have put that bug in Dr. Edmund’s ear. I teach currently as an adjunct at Grand Canyon University, at the undergraduate level. Ultimately, I would like to to do community focused work, but also going into the schools to then pay it forward to the next generation.

Do you have any words of wisdom for students considering following in your footsteps?

Number one, be humble. Number two, use a calendar. Number three, work hard.

What does it mean to you to be a Wildcat Nurse?

I am very proud to be part of a state university, especially the University of Arizona. When people say, ‘Where’d you go to school?’ it’s great to identify that I’ve gone to a school that is established, reputable, and then regarding the program, competitive and selective. To me it means that I’m invested within my state. At the same time there’s a little bit of bravado with regard to the alma mater. Bear Down!

“When I came to the college as a PhD student in 1993, I bet you we had a third of the number of students we have now. The number of program specialties and students here, it's just exploded. And now, of course, we also have our Gilbert campus with both a BSN and MEPN (Master of Science for Entry into the Profession of Nursing) program there,” said Dr. Goldsmith, who is the College of Nursing Alumni Council’s new president.

Among the changes she sees are the transition from traditional to evidence-based nursing; more technology and simulation training; a growth in online programs; a focus on self-care along with patient care to avoid burnout; and an increasing emphasis on diversity.

Promoting diversity for faculty is as important as it is for the student body, Dr. Goldsmith said. “And, with that, I hope comes more of an emphasis on equitable health care,” she added. “How can we make sure that everybody is taken care of the same way, that health care is equitable across the board, across the nation, across regions and across zip codes? That’s crucial.”

Assistant clinical professor Sharon Hom, PhD, MS, RN, agreed. She started as a UArizona Health Sciences researcher with degrees in molecular and cellular biology, pharmacology and physiology before earning a bachelor’s in nursing in 2009. She has taught in the BSN and MEPN programs since 2012 and was part of the Integrative Nursing Faculty Fellowship’s first class in 2016.

“I’ve never been prouder of the entire College of Nursing community than during the COVID-19 pandemic," ~ Sharon Hom, PhD, MS, RN

“Faculty members are strengthening nursing education with programming, so nurses are better prepared to promote health equity, find solutions to reduce health disparities, and explore how best to improve the health and wellness of the populations we serve,” said Dr. Hom, who grew up in a rural farming community in Arizona’s Gila Valley. “Our amazing staff work tirelessly to support these efforts.”

As an underrepresented minority and first-generation graduate, Dr. Hom supports diversity as an educator and mentor in the Arizona Nursing Inclusive Excellence and Indians in Nursing: Career Advancement and Transition Scholars programs.

Cultivating memories is a precious thing, said Nicole Bencs, DNP, RN-BC, CPNP who earned a bachelor’s in nursing in 2003 and a DNP with a pediatric nurse practitioner specialty in 2014.

“As a student, I think everyone remembers little nuggets and moments along the way from nursing school. They remember a faculty member, or multiple ones, that left an impact of some sort on them,” said Dr. Bencs, a lecturer in the BSN program. “What is really cool is being on the other side, teaching the next generation and hopefully leaving some impact and nuggets to my students to pass on as well.

“Technology is quite a bit different and more advanced today. Students now get to participate in many hands-on experiences with simulation and high-fidelity mannikins,” she added. “One thing students really love that we didn’t have when I was a student is the Arizona Simulation Technology and Education Center in the Health Sciences Innovation Building. They always have a good experience with learning activities there.”

Dr. Bencs is also in the U.S. Navy Reserves, where she serves with an officer she taught when he was a BSN student. “It’s really fun that he is a former student and now we are friends, colleagues and peers,” she said. 

Heidi Kosanke, MSN-Ed, RN, CCRN, shares that perspective. A 2002 BSN graduate, she has been teaching in the MEPN program since 2014. 

“There is an amazing feeling of pride when you see a group of students graduate, and it is even more gratifying to work alongside them as a peer and see their continued growth after graduation,” Kosanke said. “I worked on weekends in operating room recovery and loved being able to ‘call report’ to a former student.”

She and Laurel Bilbo, MSN-Ed, RN, a 1986 BSN graduate who joined the faculty in 2013, agree there’s no higher honor than to be recognized by students with a teaching award.

“Receiving the Excellence in Teaching Award in 2020 was a very humbling experience,” Bilbo said. “The students are what bring the greatest joy to this job. Seeing their excitement and lightbulb moments make it all worthwhile.” 

The faculty members also noted how nursing uniforms have changed through the years – from polyester fabrics to polo shirts to scrubs – and the challenges and frustrations created by the COVID-19 pandemic, along with the efforts to address them.

“Workload at bedside is a challenge. Burnout is a challenge. Nurses leaving the field altogether,” Dr. Bencs said. “There are staffing shortages, high turnover, high patient ratios – more demands on nurses in general. While nursing is a very rewarding career, it is also very taxing physically and emotionally. We try to instill and teach our students that self-care and work/life balance are necessities. We encourage them to ‘recharge their batteries’ in ways that are meaningful to them. These tools will carry them forward into their careers.”

“I’ve never been prouder of the entire College of Nursing community than during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Dr. Hom added. “The creativity, innovation, adaptability and flexibility helped us remain academically and fiscally stable as a college despite the challenges we faced.”

Visit our College of Nursing history webpage for an in-depth look at our early years up to 2001.