Advancing Careers, Knowledge, and Practice: Highlights from Duke Nursing Student Presentations
Presenting at conferences and events helps nursing students build professional skills, expand their knowledge, network with experts, and gain visibility that supports career growth and contributes to advancing the nursing profession.
This past semester, Duke University School of Nursing students have stepped forward as leaders and innovators, sharing their expertise and progress through presentations at various meetings, conferences, and other forums. From pioneering new approaches in patient care to championing creative solutions for today’s healthcare challenges, these presentations have showcased not only individual achievements, but also the collaborative spirit and community engagement that set Duke apart. These presentations reflect a commitment to shaping the future of nursing—one idea, one story, and one breakthrough at a time. Below is a sampling of some of the many talks, posters, and presentations our students have led this semester.
PhD student Cecilia Zavala-Guzmán presented a poster, “Family Caregiver Training Program for Older Adults in Chile: A Qualitative Study,” at the International Conference on Aging in Americans in Miami, FL.
CRNA students Mikayla Morgan and Cara Medlin traveled to Nashville, TN to present at the annual conference of the American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology. They were accompanied by Assistant Professor Hideyo Tsumura.
PhD student Jolie Jemmott traveled to Las Vegas to present at the American Society of Addiction Nursing’s annual conference. “I was honored to present at the ASAN Conference on my research examining the barriers, attitudes, and beliefs influencing Black men’s engagement in seeking opioid use treatment,” Jemmott said. “This opportunity allowed me to contribute to the broader dialogue on advancing equitable, culturally responsive approaches to care.”
In Boston, at the Global Korean Nursing Foundation-USA’s annual conference, PhD student Donghwan “Han” Lee was honored with the Best Presentation Award for his presentation titled “Longitudinal Analysis of Nurse-Led Care Management's Impact on Chronic Illness Self-Management Statuses in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes and Hypertension.” Lee is pictured below sharing a poster for the study at the School of Nursing’s inaugural Center for Nursing Research symposium earlier in the year.
DNP student Christeanna Richardson presented a poster at the CleanAIRE NC Conference. Richardson’s research looked at a commonly used plasticizer known as DEHP. The poster was titled, “Understanding the Health and Environmental Risks of Di(2-ethylhexyl) Phthalata (DEHP).”
DNP student Sahara Aguilar was selected to present her DNP project at the 48th Biennial Convention for Sigma Theta Tau in Indianapolis, IN. Her poster was titled “Supporting Mental Health in Schools: Empowering the School Nurse” and was one of the Rising Stars of Research and Scholarship Invited Student Presentations representing the School of Nursing’s Beta Epsilon Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau.
At the Obesity Society’s annual conference, PhD student Caroline Kee presented a poster on her research titled “Causal Attributions and Internalized Weight Bias in Adults with Obesity: A Factor Analysis.”
PhD student Somin Sang gave a presentation at the American Medical Informatics Association annual conference in Atlanta. Sang’s research focuses on healthcare systems engineering and digital health monitoring, and her presentation was titled “Comparing Patient-Level Social Drivers of Health from Health Surveys and Electronic Health Records for Patients with Comorbid Hypertension and Uncontrolled Diabetes.”
CRNA students presented at the North Carolina Association of Nurse Anesthetists conference in Wilmington, NC, marking one of the largest student representations from any school of nursing in the state. The presentations were:
- “Assessing the Effect of Nitrous Oxide on Global Health: Who’s Laughing Now?” by Courtney Rau and Ethan Budsock
- “Herbs and Anesthesia: Potent Blend or Recipe for Risk?” by Soo Jung Ha
- “Racial and Ethnic Inequities in Perianesthesia Care for Pediatric Surgical Patients” by Alysha Johnson and Assistant Professor Hideyo Tsumura
- “From Pop Culture to Policy: How Media Shapes the Public’s Perception of Nurse Anesthesia Practice and Advocacy” by Mirabel Ijeomah
- “Are Aesthetics Affecting our Anesthetics?” by Krystin Jones and Macey Arrington
Congratulations to these students and the many others who have contributed valuable work and insights across a range of topics and forums, continuing to advance nursing practice and science through their scholarship and advocacy.