Celebrate the nursing profession in May

The School of Nursing invites alumni and the UT Health San Antonio community to celebrate the nursing profession with a virtual celebration set for 4:30 to 6 p.m. May 26. The event is part of a monthlong celebration of nursing that begins with National Nurses Week, May 6-12, and includes three other virtual events for School of Nursing faculty, staff and students.

Cindy Sickora, DPN, RN, professor and vice chair for practice and engagement in the School of Nursing, will lead the panel discussion May 26 called “Community Engagement: Promoting Health with Families.”

Panelists include:

  • Adelita Cantu, PhD, RN, associate professor, whose expertise is in health disparities, population health and environmental health.
  • Lisa Cleveland, PhD, RN, CPNP, IBCLC, FAAN, associate professor, who is a national expert on opioid use disorder among pregnant and parenting women, neonatal abstinence syndrome and opioid overdose prevention.
  • Penny Flores, PhD, RN, WHNP-BC, assistant professor, whose work focuses on the health issues of vulnerable Hispanic women including geriatric health, cancer, hepatitis C and human papillomavirus.
  • Moonju Lee, PhD, RN, assistant professor, who is interested in health disparities among Korean Americans, who are predisposed to colorectal cancer.
  • Janna Lesser, PhD, RN, professor, who is involved in nationally funded community-based research partnerships in the Latino community. Her work has nationally influenced the approach of preventing sexually transmitted infections, such as HIV.
  • Rebekah Salt, PhD, RN, associate professor, whose research focuses on the social determinants of health and community-based research. She is involved with the San Antonio Refugee Health Clinic and Center for Medical Humanities & Ethics.
  • Karen Schwab, PhD, APRN, CPNP-PC, PMHS, assistant professor, who oversees the School of Nursing’s Wellness 365 pediatric practice. She was instrumental in obtaining the Foster Care Center of Excellence designation for the pediatric clinic and is expanding services off-campus and into the community.

Other nursing events kicking off the monthlong celebration include a virtual presentation, “Focus on Resilience: Happy Nurses Week!” May 5, from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Led by Jacqueline McGrath, PhD, RN, FNAP, FAAN, professor and vice dean for faculty excellence, the presentation will provide self-care tips and resilience techniques for nursing faculty, staff, students and nurses appointed to other areas of UT Health San Antonio.

May 12, from 4:30 to 6 p.m. will be a special recognition program that acknowledges the many efforts of faculty, staff and students with the presentation of annual awards and scholarships. The event will be led by Heidi Benavides, MSN, RN, chair of the Committee on Faculty, Staff and Student Matters. Benavides, MSN, RN, is assistant professor/clinical in the Office of Faculty Excellence.

May 17-23 offers a week of professional Development for faculty, staff and students. For more information, click here.



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