“To become a nurse, you have demonstrated that you are good at enduring stressful situations,” said Catherine Gaudet, M.S.N., RN, CNL, a clinical nurse leader at the hospital and a co-champion of a new pilot program to prevent and address burnout among nurses. “Stress can be necessary and helpful, but if stressors are not dealt with effectively, long-term mental and physical impacts can occur.”
Gaudet explains the concept behind Stress First Aid, a peer support framework first developed for the U.S. Navy and now the basis of the three-year pilot being implemented at four healthcare sites in the nation, including University Hospital, part of USA Health, the University of South Alabama’s health system. It is funded by a grant from the American Nurses Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the American Nurses Association, and the United Health Foundation.
“Stress First aid is a set of knowledge and skills that we use every day to gain control of our experiences with stress,” she said.
Research shows that nurses nationwide have faced unprecedented stress and burnout in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the Foundation’s Pulse on the Nation’s Nurses Survey, conducted in November 2022, 64% of respondents said they felt stressed, 60% said they were frustrated, and 57% reported feeling exhausted.
The pilot program is designed to identify and reduce stress reactions before they develop into lasting issues. It goes beyond identification of burnout to intervention, by helping nurses speak about their stress/burnout using a common language, normalize talking about it and provide support to their peers.
“We are honored to join this pilot program by the American Nurses Foundation and extend our commitment to our employees to build a supportive and healthy work environment,” said Shannon Scaturro, M.S.H.A., M.S.N., CRNA, FACHE, chief operating officer for USA Health and assistant vice president for medical affairs. “Our participation in this program will help give us the tools and resources to better support our caregivers who have been under incredible stress serving our community. As an organization, we are committed to improving the lives of those in our community and the lives of our caregivers.”
Sherry Fryman, RN, M.S.H.A., chief nursing officer for University Hospital, said the pandemic added a layer of psychological stress to a job that had always been stressful. “Now that the immediate threat has resolved, nurses are emotionally drained and experiencing burnout at a very high rate. It is important that they take the time to focus on their own mental and physical well-being,” Fryman said. “To help them, we need to create a sense of community and provide nurses with emotional resources so they can feel empowered and supported.”
The pilot program is unique in that it also emphasizes and validates the voices and needs of Millennial and Generation Z nurses as well as nurses of color to ensure their experiences are recognized and addressed, the Foundation said. Lessons learned from the program will be incorporated into a national awareness campaign.
Stress First Aid introduces a scale – green, yellow, orange and red – to describe stress levels. It trains nurses to recognize the signs of stress injury in themselves and their colleagues and to respond with support and resources. Green indicates wellness, while red, the highest risk, reflects depression and anxiety.
“By giving stress a color, we allow nurses to express where they feel they are at on the ‘stress continuum’ without assigning any blame or shame for feeling stress,” said Amy Campbell, D.N.P., RN, assistant professor in the USA School of Computing and a co-principal investigator on the project. “Similarly, this language also allows their peers to immediately identify steps they can take to better support a peer in distress.”
Other health systems in the program include BayCare Health in Tampa Bay, Florida; Indiana University Health in locations throughout Indiana; and Atrium Health Wake Forest, Winston-Salem campus in North Carolina.
“Participating in this pilot project demonstrates that we value our nurses as individuals. Their well-being matters,” said Kristen Noles, D.N.P., CNL, performance improvement manager for USA Health and a co-principal investigator on the program. “Without nurses, we can’t take care of patients.”
At University Hospital, the program is still in its early stages. Gaudet and another champion, Chris Clark, RN, a clinical nurse leader on the ninth floor of University Hospital, are training nurses in their units and gathering ideas for a special room that can provide stress-relief activities. They will train nurses how to respond to others in stress, including observing and listening, getting help or covering someone’s duties while they take a break. The idea is to restore effectiveness, self-esteem and hope.
Back in the conference room, the new nurses jot down their ideas for a “decompression room” on index cards, as other nurse manager champions, Matthew Reed, RN, and Sarah Gates, RN, look on. Then they are asked to share the ways they cope with stress.
Preston Phillips, RN, says he spends time in a room with low lighting. Garrett Deakle, RN, says he chooses exercise, such as running. Morgan Howard, RN, gets in her car and turns up the music.
The eight are among about 40 nurses working in the medical ICU. They are caring for patients with heart failure, kidney failure or respiratory failure and those recovering from open heart and bypass surgeries. Stress levels can vary widely depending on the day’s events.
“This program gives you the ability to identify what stress level you’re in and, more importantly, what stress level your co-workers are in. It lets us take the temperature of the unit,” Clark said. “It’s a learning language, so we can help each other.”
(Courtesy of the University of South Alabama)
The presidents of University of South Alabama and Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College signed a Memorandum of Agreement Wednesday that continues a program to expand access to four-year degree.
The signing ceremony took place at MGCCC’s Hospitality Resort Management Center in Biloxi. The agreement is part of the Pathway USA program that streamlines the transfer process for entering South.
“Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College has been a valued partner in our Pathway USA program since 2016,” said USA President Jo Bonner. “With today’s renewal we look forward to many more years of providing a smooth transition for their students to advance their education at South.”
Students who are admitted into the program are guaranteed admission to USA upon successful completion of the Associate of Arts degree or Associate of Science degree with a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher. Reverse transfer agreements will be created by USA to allow students who transfer without an associate degree to complete the degree after matriculation to USA.
“We are excited about the opportunities this affords our students who are interested in degrees offered at University of South Alabama,” said Dr. Mary S. Graham, MGCCC president. “We have had a great partnership with USA for a long time, and this continuation of that partnership reflects the commitment both our institutions have to student success.”
Each student in the program will receive access to a USA advisor, who will visit their campus once each term, and other benefits, including a special USA ID card, discounts to USA Jaguar Productions, library privileges, early registration, and free admission to USA athletic events.
The Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine at the University of South Alabama welcomed its largest-ever incoming class, 80 members of the Class of 2026, with a week of orientation activities ranging from informative to interactive to social.
Following a welcome on Monday by John Marymont, M.D., M.B.A., dean of the College of Medicine and vice president of medical affairs, the students heard from faculty in the offices of Student Affairs, Diversity and Inclusion, and Medical Education.
“It’s always exciting to welcome new members to our College of Medicine family, and we are thrilled the Class of 2026 is here,” said Kelly Roveda, M.D., associate dean for student affairs.
During the week, the students trained in basic life support, attended a club fair and toured campus facilities. They were treated to a dean’s dinner at B-B-Quing With My Honey and an ice cream social featuring Cammie’s Old Dutch.
The week culminated in a wellness house sorting in which students were assigned to five groups named for the five rivers that feed into Mobile Bay. They will continue with the wellness houses, made up of students from all four classes, throughout their medical school years. “It’s so wonderful that we get to come back and do things in person such as the wellness-house sorting this year,” said Becky Smith, Ph.D., L.P.C., N.C.C., counselor for the Whiddon College of Medicine, referring to previous years when activities were held virtually because of COVID restrictions. “We are looking forward to doing even more wellness events in person this year.”
Roveda said that more than 20 second-year medical students were involved in planning, organizing and implementing the orientation events. The orientation team was led by Yulong Huang and Naden Kreitz, both members of the Class of 2025. “The enthusiasm expressed by the orientation team was felt by all participants, as members of the team were present for all scheduled days just to be accessible to the incoming class,” she said. “Students such as those on the team are a big reason why our College of Medicine is so successful.”
(Courtesy of the University of South Alabama)
Martin J. Heslin, MD, MSHA, has been named director of the USA Health Mitchell Cancer Institute.
Heslin is a renowned surgical oncologist and former associate director of the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He serves as executive vice chair of the Department of Surgery and is the chief of the medical staff at UAB Hospital. Heslin also is the James P. Hayes Jr. Endowed Professor in Gastrointestinal Oncology.
He begins his role at MCI on Feb. 15. (more…)
University of South Alabama and USA Health employees and retirees contributed $224,316 to support the 2020 United Way of Southwest Alabama’s annual campaign.
More than 1,700 current and retired employees gave to this year’s campaign, which provides funding to 47 health and human service organizations in Choctaw, Clarke, Mobile and Washington counties to address key social issues in the areas of health, education and financial stability. (more…)
Dr. Alvin J. Williams asked graduates at the University of South Alabama to find a “personal North Star” to guide their lives.
“Your time here at South has provided a solid foundation, some core values, some sense of ethical purpose and some rich relationships, and along the way some periods of recalibration and reflection,” Williams, distinguished professor and chair of marketing and quantitative methods in the Mitchell College of Business, told graduates at Fall Commencement.
“Use this springboard strategically and carefully as you chart your personal journey north.” (more…)
Researchers and scholars at the University of South Alabama received more than $87 million in external and contract funding in 2019, university officials said, a dramatic 43% increase from the year prior.
“This year was the tipping point,” said Lynne Chronister, vice president for research and economic development at USA. “We went up $25 million in one year. It puts us in a different level of research.
“We have some fantastic researchers and scholars on this campus. It’s our job to support them so they can be creative.”
Under President Tony Waldrop, South Alabama has invested in graduate programs and recruited faculty who are capable of drawing grant money. (more…)
“Everybody reacts to trauma differently,” said Zack Aggen. He reacts by helping.
Aggen knows a lot about trauma. As a U.S. Army medic during two combat tours in Iraq, he saw terrible wounds, heard horrifying screams of pain and worked desperately to save the lives of the fellow soldiers who had become, in his word, “family.”
Aggen also remembers a quieter but still agonizing trauma: feeling “lost and hopeless” as he transitioned from the structured intensity of his military career to a baffling civilian life where none of the skills he’d learned seemed of any use.
“When I first got back,” he said, “I went from putting in chest tubes and bandaging amputations to the only job I could find, which was as a patient care tech at St. Vincent’s hospital in Birmingham. I went from saving people’s lives to changing bedpans.”
Now a second-year medical student at the University of South Alabama, Aggen managed to find his way to a future he envisioned on his hardest days. A little guidance from someone who had been where he’d been would have made it a lot easier. (more…)
New research studies by physician-scientists at USA Health Mitchell Cancer Institute have been published online in advance of the 55th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, taking place May 31-June 4 in Chicago.
The event is the world’s largest clinical cancer research meeting and draws more than 32,000 oncology professionals from around the globe who share the latest cancer research affecting patient care. Advances in therapies for rectal cancer, colon cancer and melanoma were among the MCI research projects accepted for online publication.
“Oncologists at the Mitchell Cancer Institute are dedicated to advancing the science of cancer care,” said Dr. Rodney P. Rocconi, interim director at MCI. “It’s encouraging to see their work recognized by a worldwide organization of 45,000 oncology professionals.”
The following MCI research projects were among 3,200 studies accepted for online publication by ASCO: (more…)
Luciana Madeira da Silva, Ph.D., a researcher at USA Health Mitchell Cancer Institute, has received a 2019 Minority and Minority-serving Institution Faculty Scholar in Cancer Research Award.
The travel award was presented to 15 researchers at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in Atlanta. The AACR is the world’s oldest and largest professional association related to cancer research. (more…)
Cancer researcher Ajay Singh, Ph.D., is one of 10 scientists to receive an Outstanding Achievement Award from the Society of American Asian Scientists in Cancer Research. The awards were presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in Atlanta.
Singh is a professor of oncologic sciences and head of the Health Disparities in Cancer Research Program at USA Health Mitchell Cancer Institute. He joined MCI in 2009. (more…)
The University of South Alabama and Budweiser-Busch Distributing Co., Inc. have reached an agreement on a commitment to the new Hancock Whitney Stadium that includes recognition of the terrace in the facility’s south end zone.
In recognition of a $1 million gift, the Michelob Ultra Terrace will feature several rows with walk-up drink rails that offer an intimate and immersive view of the game action near field level, bringing tailgating to the field. The Michelob Ultra Terrace is expected to emphasize social interaction among fans, with the middle sections being an ideal setting for group events. (more…)
Researchers at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine have developed a pre-clinical model for Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), a progressive disease that occurs in critically ill patients. A team led by Dr. Diego F. Alvarez and Dr. Jonathon P. Audia published the results of this NIH/NHLBI-sponsored study in the March 11 online edition of Pulmonary Circulation.
ARDS has a mortality rate of 40 to 60 percent in patients who develop the disorder, which is characterized by worsening lung function. Typically ARDS develops as a result of community- and hospital-acquired pneumonia and patients are treated in an intensive-care setting. (more…)
By Maj. Jason Downey’s best recollection, he was about 5 years old when his two grandfathers began taking him to the woods and waters of Alabama to fish, ski and hunt.
As natural as Alabama’s outdoors felt to him growing up, however, it wasn’t until he found himself on a ride-along with a lieutenant for the Marine Resources Division of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources that he realized with all certainty exactly what he wanted to do with his career.
(more…)