The relationship between the Duke University School of Nursing and our nation’s armed forces can be traced back more than 80 years to just prior to the beginning of World War II. Since then, DUSON has built a deep and lasting legacy with the military that distinguishes it within the nursing profession.

Professors, students, and staff in the Duke University School of Nursing are collaborating with other Duke partners including the School of Medicine on an innovative study involving at-home data-collecting and monitoring of patients with Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure.

In April 1941, prior to U.S. involvement in World War II, the United States Public Health Service (USPHS) issued a call for schools of nursing to increase enrollment to train more nurses for military, health, and civilian service. Duke responded by admitting 84 students in October 1941, an increase from 58 the previous year.

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is typically thought to affect younger white women and often important factors are underrecognized in other populations, including veterans. That is one of the reasons that Duke University School of Nursing postdoctoral fellow and clinical associate Carri Polick, Ph.D., RN, is conducting a study that examines smoking cessation among veterans with MS and how social determinants of health might affect treatment of veterans’ smoking addiction and disease trajectory.

Duke University School of Nursing (DUSON) Assistant Professor Brandon Knettel, Ph.D., was recently awarded a grant by the Duke Global Health Institute (DGHI), where Knettel holds a secondary appointment as assistant research professor, to fund travel for East African scholars partnering with each other and Duke to impact mental health care in the region. The year-long grant will allow scholars from the University of Global Health Equity (UGHE) in Rwanda, Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center (KCMC) in Tanzania, Moi University in Kenya, and Makerere University in Uganda to attend workshops at each of those institutions to learn about focused areas of expertise. The two-day workshops will include a combination of didactic training; visits to research and clinical sites to learn about existing services; collaborative planning for capacity building and funding opportunities; and professional networking.