School of Nursing Hosts Research and Scholarship Day

Cape Breton University’s School of Nursing (SON) hosted its inaugural Research and Scholarship Day during the fall semester, with a focus on advancing academic study in the field of nursing.

The conference theme, Innovative Nursing Research and Scholarship for the Enhancement of Quality of Life, set the tone for an exploration of ideas and novel approaches to advancing health care through research. Conference organizer, Dr. Khaldoun Aldiabat, Assistant Dean of Research and Scholarship in Nursing at CBU, says the conference fostered a strong sense of collaboration among nursing faculty.

“We are so thrilled with the outcomes of the conference, including a commitment to research that will contribute to a brighter, healthier and more prosperous future for Cape Breton communities and beyond,” says Dr. Aldiabat. “The School of Nursing at CBU is dedicated to enhancing overall health and development through rigorous research and innovative teaching, which the conference underscored.”

A total of ten oral and four poster presentations highlighted the diversity and depth of nursing research. These included keynote speaker, Dr. Catherine Aquino Russell, Professor of Nursing at the University of New Brunswick. Dr. Russell is a research pioneer in the field of nursing, with studies that not only include facets of nursing practice and patient care, but also compassion and self-care in the nursing profession. Other presentations described wound care research, online assessment tools in long term care settings, Indigenous knowledge to promote skin healing, cancer home self-management care and the experience with implementing lactation/infant feeding rooms at CBU.

Dr. Kimberley Lamarche, Dean of the School of Nursing, says that while this was years’ event was focused on CBU’s nursing faculty and educators, it complements collaboration with Nova Scotia Health (NSH) which she calls an essential catalyst to nursing research. She says several members of CBU faculty are already serving as affiliated scientists with NSH.

“Working with NSH in a research capacity supports the emergence of new pathways to advance nursing, improve patient care and ultimately enhance the quality of life for residents,” says Dr. Lamarche. “Collaborative research projects between the School of Nursing and NSH are currently underway and we look forward to growing and advancing these partnerships for the benefit of local, national and international healthcare systems and the people they serve.”

As the lead organizer of the event, Dr. Aldiabat says the question of hosting similar conferences in the future received unanimous agreement. “There was no hesitation in recommending that we continue hosting events focused on research and scholarship so that’s incredibly motivating,” he says. “We are already working on the next one.”

Featured in Photo:

Back row, L to R: Emily MacLeod, Adam Elliott

Middle row, L to R: Danielle Jackson Rudderham, Kelsey Morrison, Beth O’Leary, Julianne Travis, Melanie Gallant, Florie Gillis, Steve Iduye, Shawna Goodwin, Janet Kuhnke, Jill MacMullen, Karen Kennedy, Patricia O’Neil, Catherine Aquino-Russell

Front row, L to R: Khaldoun Aldiabat, Audrey Walsh, Mary MacKinnon, Carol Amirault, Sam Mrazek, Rebecca Jones, Lauren O’Donnell, Virginia Gunn, Amanda Lawrence