2024

11.1
Post-doctoral fellow Crystal Chu (BSN ’14, PhD ’22)—who creates, deploys, and tests decision aids for women at risk for or facing breast cancer—earned the Society for Medical Decision Making's (SMDM) "Young Scholar Award" for 2024 at the group's annual meeting in Boston, Ma. Chu is an American Cancer Society grantee alumna.

11.23
Several UVA School of Nursing faculty members were celebrated at the Virginia Nurses Association's (VNA) annual gala in Richmond, including Melissa Gomes (CERTI-PMHNP ’13), associate dean for diversity, equity, and inclusion, who won the 2024 VNF Nurse Researcher Award, and assistant professor Crystal Toll, who earned a 2024 VNF “Trailblazer” Leadership Excellence Nurse Educator Award.
On hand to administer the awards was Dean Marianne Baernholdt and UVA Health University Medical Center chief nursing officer Kathy Baker, the School's associate dean for clinical affairs and incoming Virginia Nurses Association president. Clinical instructor Mesha Jones, a UVA Health nurse manager, also officially began her term as the Virginia Nurses Foundation's president.
2025
1.1
Applications opened for the School of Nursing’s first-ever Valencia First: Nursing cohort.
Open to students admitted to the BSN program who begin in fall 2025, Valencia First: Nursing will offer up to eight students the opportunity to complete their first semester nursing courses along with one Spanish language course.
The group, mentored from a distance by Global Initiatives’ director Cathy Campbell, associate professor, will stay with local families and take part in site visits to local hospitals and clinics, meet with area medical experts, and collaborate with Spanish nursing students. Deadline to apply is April 15, 2025.
1.6
Betty Norman Norris Professor of Nursing Kimberly D. Acquaviva’s HANDBOOK OF LGTQIA-INCLUSIVE HOSPICE AND PALLIATIVE CARE (Columbia University Press, 2023) earned the American Journal of Nursing's top spot in the category of palliatice and hospice care.

1.9
UVA Health unveiled a Mobile Care Unit at a ribbon cutting in Southwood at the Boys and Girls Club of Charlottesville. Part of a nearly $350,000 federal grant to expand healthcare services to patients facing barriers at traditional healthcare facilities, the van—which includes a private exam room and consultation space—will visit Southwood and Fifeville and be staffed by School of Nursing clinicians including assistant professor Amy Boitnott (DNP ’11), associate dean Randy Jones (BSN ’00, MSN ’02, PhD ’06), clinical instructor Jennifer Gaines, and associate professor Malinda Whitlow (BSN ’07, MSN ’11, DNP ’13), among others, who will use the unit as a teaching space for undergraduate and graduate nursing students as well.
The van offers general check-ups, chronic disease management, pediatric care, including sports physicals, care for minor illness and injuries, women’s health, and rapid lab testing.

1.10
In early January, thousands gathered for the Society for Simulation in Healthcare's International Meeting (IMSH) for five days or presentations, poster sessions, product demonstrations, and networking in Orlando, Fl. Billed as the "world's premier healthcare simulation education learning event," IMSH also included 11 simulation faculty member presenters from UVA Schools of Nursing and Medicine, who, across seven presentations, showcased their work at the award-winning, INACSL-endorsed Mary Morton Parsons Simulation Learning Center.
IMSH presenters included Ackard as well as Bradley Accipiter, Vaia Abatzis, Gina DeGennaro, Cindi Dellett, Jennifer Gaines, Andrew Guertler, Samantha Hudgins (BSN ’12), Keith Littlewood, Jaclyn McCann, James Nisley, and Tanya Thomas (BSN ’05, MSN-CNS ’19, DNP ’20).

1.14
At a ribbon cutting ceremony at UVA Northern Virginia, UVA’s 55,000-square-foot campus in Fairfax, Dean Baernholdt, associate professor Gretchen Wiersma, Sara Hallowell, associate dean for undergraduate programs, and Austin Stajduhar, assistant dean for admissions, among many others, celebrated the first day of class with RN to BSN students in the Northern Virginia cohort. The new facility is UVA’s first-ever satellite campus, and is home to nursing, engineering, and, in the future, public health programs.
1.23
Post-doctoral research fellow Mina Ostovari, who works with Kluge-Schakat Professor of Compassionate Care Professor Virginia LeBaron (BSN ’96) on her NIH-funded grant focused on the management of cancer pain through the use of home-based patient monitoring systems, earned the Bhakta Rath Public Service Research Award, given annually for excellence that anticipates the future needs of the nation.

2.6
The School's latest Alumni Spotlight Series featured violence scholar and nurse scientist Trina Kumodzi (PhD ’19), who discussed her path into the profession, what she's currently working on, and her role as an assistant professor at University of Maryland School of Nursing.
2.12
Join School of Nursing alumni for an online panel with CRNA / nurse anesthetist Ashley Dierson (BSN ’06), former flight nurse Stephene Hertwig (MSN ’16), OR nurse Mia Oppler (BSN ’22), Novo Nordisk cardiovascular medical science liaison and cardiology NP Joshua James (BSN ’05), and midwife Nina Zorzi (BSN ’20), who will share a bit about their diverse experiences and pathways in nursing.
Feb. 12, 12 PM on Zoom.

2.19
To honor the legacy of a remarkable individual who has left an indelible mark on the UVA School of Nursing community, the School will unveil the Joanne Barkett Conway Nursing Student Commons in McLeod Hall in February 2025.
Named in memory of Mrs. JoAnne Barkett Conway, a longtime benefactor who, with her husband, Bill Conway, enriched many lives through generosity and vision, the new space offers a cleaner, more contemporary and expansive comfortable space for nursing students looking to gather, relax, and study. The Conways have transformed the School's academics, faculty and student support structures, and the student experience through donations totaling nearly $50 million over the last decade.
2.28
UVA Northern Virginia, the University's first-ever satellite campus, will celebrate a grand opening on Feb. 28 with University and school leaders from across Grounds. The School of Nursing's RN to BSN program is one of several programs offered in the new 55,000 square-foot space. RSVP here.

3.6
Alumna Anne P. Weiland (MSN ’78) will present an hourlong virtual program on her work as a corporate vice president in surgery, transplant, orthopedics, neurosciences, and integrated surgery at MedStar Georgetown Health, the latest in the School's Alumni Spotlight Series. Register for Zoom link.
3.14
A joint meeting of the Agnes Dillon Randolph International Nursing History and Southern Association for the History of Medicine and Science Conferences will offer two days of presentations focused on the history of nursing, medicine, science, and healthcare. Offered by the Bjoring Center for Nursing Historical Inquiry, the interdisciplinary conference - which takes place in person Mar. 14 and 15 2025 - brings together scholars from across the region to learn together and network. Register here.

4.30
Following on its commitment to offer guaranteed admissions to UVA School of Nursing alumni interested in earning an MSN, post-master's, or DNP degree, the School will convene a Zoom event just for nursing alumni that will offer attendees a look at the different pathways in nursing.
Over the hour-long program, Apr. 30, from 5:30 - 6:30 PM EST, a small group of alumni from across programs will share stories of their own path to graduate school, and how earning a graduate degree changed their lives and their trajectories. RSVP here.