Two students of the Trent/Fleming School of Nursing, Sarah Dykeman and Hannah Silk, are Trent University’s first-ever recipients of Health Professional Student Research Vouchers from the Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR).
The students will each receive funding to support the completion of an independent research project in the areas of cancer treatment and HPV vaccination, giving them the opportunity to gain hands-on research training and to work in partnership with faculty mentors.
“We are very pleased to have two students who have been the recipients of the CIHR research vouchers,” said Dr. Cyndi Gilmer, faculty member of the Trent/Fleming School of Nursing and a member of the Nursing Awards Committee. “Our nursing faculty is very involved in and committed to excellence in nursing research. There is nothing that fosters a love for research more than actually being able to participate in it. Nursing research is vital to the growth and development of excellence in health care in many different sectors.”
Ms. Dykeman and Ms. Silk were congratulated for their achievement at the sixth annual Nursing Awards Ceremony on Tuesday, April 1 at Trent, celebrating excellence among students and faculty members. The School of Nursing recognized several individuals, including Emily Reeson and Sarah Dykeman with the Janet Bews Scholarship in Alzheimer Disease and Related Dementias; Lisa Cummings with the Parkinson’s Society Dr. Ted Cragg Award; Rebecca Butler and Patricia Forbes with the Central East Community Care Access Centre Prize; Kaley Carveth with the Nicoll's/Civic Alumnae Prize; and Naiema Alam with the Elizabeth Collins Leadership Prize and the RNAO Best Practice Guideline Student Champion. Professor Jacqueline Galica also received the RNFOO Award.
“We’re maturing as a school of nursing. Receiving two prestigious awards like the CIHR research vouchers is a coming of age for the program,” said Dr. Beryl Cable-Williams, faculty member and chair of the School of Nursing Awards Committee. “The fact that we were given the opportunity to select Trent students for these vouchers means that we are being recognized by the major health research funding agency in Canada.”
With the support of their faculty advisors – Dr. Michele McIntosh and Prof. Jacqueline Galica respectively – Ms. Dykeman and Ms. Silk prepared rigorous applications outlining their research projects, including ethical reviews and detailed methodologies. As a condition of the CIHR, they are expected to spend at least 75 per cent of their time in research training which facilitates the development of significant skill sets.
Ms. Silk’s research will focus on people undergoing cancer treatment and the toll it takes on patients’ relationships with their spouses, children, family and friends. She hopes to take a step toward building a theory that could explain the relationship between intimacy – the physical and psychosocial bond between couples – and the way that cancer patients cope with their diagnosis and treatment. Clarifying the impact that intimate relationships can have on a patient’s ability to cope with cancer will allow nurses to develop strategies to utilize this information to help improve care for patients and their loved ones.
“Building an empirically-tested theory would allow for the development of educational programs for both patients and healthcare providers to improve coping and intimacy in the oncology population, and reduce some of the stresses facing couples as they deal with the upheaval that cancer can cause,” Ms. Silk said.
She was thrilled to learn that she had been selected to receive the CIHR voucher, allowing her to gain recognition for her innovative work while also relieving some of her financial strain. Ms. Silk will graduate at the end of the winter semester and hopes to continue her research at the Masters or Ph.D. level. The support she received from Prof. Galica was vital to her successful application, providing support and encouragement to excel as a nursing student.
“The Trent/Fleming School of Nursing is a great program that focuses on holistic nursing, challenges students to work both independently and in a group environment and all in a very down-to earth, yet academic setting,” Ms. Silk said. “As a smaller school, I had many opportunities to connect with professors and other faculty members with whom I look forward to continuing an academic relationship.”
Ms. Dykeman’s research proposes to gain in-depth understanding about the influences and information sources involved in young women’s decision-making process regarding the Gardasil vaccine for HPV. More than one-third of teen girls sampled in an Ontario research study confused HPV, the human papillomavirus, with HIV, the human immunodeficiency virus: many girls believed they were being immunized against HIV, rendering them much more vulnerable to exposure to HIV. This has significant implications as young women aged 16 to 24 are one of the groups at increased risk for infection in Canada. Ms. Dykeman will research how misinformation impacts the process of informed consent by young women who accept or decline the vaccine.
“I feel strongly about ethical nursing practice that introduces critical perspectives and social justice. I hope to support my research with first hand clinical experience as a novice nurse after I graduate,” Ms. Dykeman says. “Dr. Michele McIntosh has been instrumental in challenging my thinking and supporting creativity and innovation in nursing research. Her commitment to sound, evidence-based knowledge, as well as critical epistemologies have provided the space for my own growth in this area.
Receiving the CIHR voucher has led to further research and employment opportunities for Ms. Dykeman, helping her to build a career as both a clinical nurse and nurse researcher.
“Both the School of Nursing and the CIHR have opened new doors through which to integrate my enthusiasm for social justice and women’s health with excellent clinical knowledge and evidence-based practice,” she said. “I hope the research I conduct for this voucher helps supplement larger research projects on the ethics of the HPV vaccine and adolescent autonomy.”
Posted on Thursday, April 10, 2014.