Leadership in Action

Nursing Leaders

July 2022

By School of Nursing Communications

Nearly a Decade of Success Preparing Nurses to Become Diabetes Experts

Since its start in 2013, the Diabetes Concentration (DC) at the UCSF School of Nursing has prepared 140 students to become diabetes experts to date and is continuing this mission today.

On May 21, 2022, 10 faculty and more than 40 alumni of the DC celebrated nearly a decade of success at a celebration at the Woodside, California home of Joanne Kagle.

The celebration honored visionaries Kit Chesla and Steve Gitelman, who helped craft the original memorandum of understanding. The DC recognized Kagle for hosting the occasion, and thanked the faculty who have taught, precepted, guest lectured or who have been filmed for the DC’s 30-unit online CME for health care professionals.

Graduates flew in from Navajo Nation, Seattle, Los Angeles, San Diego and other areas to attend. They gave testimonials that included starting as a new Navajo FNP, leading residencies, leading diversity, equity and inclusion journal clubs, securing funding for pediatric therapy for the underserved and more.

“I made a career change specifically to work with people with diabetes. When I saw the DC website I said, ‘That is what I want to learn’,” said Anjali Asrani, MS ’19, who was diagnosed with diabetes at 19 and now works in the Endocrinology, Diabetes and Osteoporosis Division at Sutter Pacific Medical Foundation in San Francisco. “The DC helped get me where I wanted to go – to have the tangible skills I’d wanted from practitioners as a patient, but hadn’t been able to articulate.”

Read the full story with photos from the celebration.

E-Cigarette Use Costs U.S. $15B Per Year, Reports UCSF in First Study of Its Kind

Use of electronic cigarettes costs the United States $15 billion annually in health care expenditures – more than $2,000 per person a year – according to a study by researchers at the UCSF School of Nursing. The study, published on May 23, 2022, in Tobacco Control, is the first to look at the health care costs of e-cigarette use among adults 18 and older.

“Our finding indicates that health care expenditures for a person who uses e-cigarettes are $2,024 more per year than for a person who doesn’t use any tobacco products,” said lead author Yingning Wang, PhD.

Read the full story.

School of Nursing Celebrates the Class of 2022

The UCSF School of Nursing conferred degrees upon nearly 200 new graduates from the Class of 2022 who stand poised to advance health and health equity.

Hundreds of family and friends joined the celebration on June 2, 2022 at Davies Symphony Hall, filling the auditorium with enthusiastic applause as UCSF Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Dan Lowenstein conferred degrees upon 181 master’s and doctoral students. In addition, 16 post-master’s students received their certificates for completion of their training. Read the full story, which includes a photo slideshow.

Ifeyinwa Asiodu Engages at White House Listening Session

Ifeyinwa Asiodu, PhD, RN, FAAN, assistant professor, was a panelist on the White House’s California Clinician Leaders Listening Session on May 24, 2022 that focused on addressing health equity and access in California. Read her remarks on reproductive health equity.

ACTIONS Receive $1.8 Million Grant

The Abortion Care Training Incubator for Outstanding Nurse Scholars (ACTIONS) program at the UCSF School of Nursing has received a $1,777,908 three-year grant from an anonymous donor to continue its innovative work training the next generation of nursing and public health leaders.

The ACTIONS program provides funding for predoctoral and postdoctoral scholars at UCSF to design studies that prioritize reproductive justice as the primary approach to reproductive health services provision, including abortion, birth, contraception, healthy sexuality, parenting, and pleasure. This fellowship provides a unique opportunity to train the next generation of thought leaders and change agents in nursing, public health and social science scholarship. The program has launched several research projects, published op-eds, joined an amicus brief, and participated in the California Future of Abortion Council.

The ACTIONS program launched in 2018. Former postdoctoral fellows are now pursuing academic careers and leading reproductive justice work at other institutions across the country.

ACTIONS was founded by associate adjunct professor Monica McLemore, PhD, RN, MPH, a leading nurse-scientist with expertise in and a commitment to reproductive justice. It is co-directed by professor Linda Franck, PhD, RN, FAAN, and Nikki Lanshaw, MPH, project director.

Commenting on the urgent need for advanced scholarship in abortion, McLemore said, “Access to abortion care, and the ability to pursue abortion-oriented scholarship continues to be decimated. We are more committed than ever to supporting scholars who are enthusiastic and passionate about transformational change toward reproductive justice.”

Angel Kuo Named PIPE Associate Director

Angel Kuo, MS, CPNP-PC, has been named associate director of the UCSF Program for Interprofessional Practice and Education. She will work with the director to advance interprofessional educational initiatives at UCSF, including the expansion of interprofessional education into clinical settings. Read the full announcement.

Lydia Bartholow Honored as OHSU Distinguished Alumna of the Year

Lydia Bartholow, DNP, PMHNP, CARN-NP, assistant professor, has been honored with the 2022 Distinguished Alumni Award from Oregon Health and Science University’s School of Nursing Alumni Association.

Faculty and Staff in the News

Monica McLemore, PhD, RN, FAAN, was among the experts cited in The Washington Post's June 26 analysis "Criminalizing Abortion Will Hurt Black Women Most" and the San Francisco Chronicle's June 26 piece "Let's Call Racism What It Is: A Chronic Disease."

Ifeyinwa Asiodu, PhD, RN, FAAN, shared her expertise about the infant formula shortage for a June 16 news piece that aired on KCBS; in Kaiser Health News’ June 3 article “For Many Low-Income Families, Getting Formula Has Always Been a Strain;” and in The Atlantic’s May 27 article “A Very Expensive, Technically Illegal Workaround to the Formula Shortage;” and in the National Journal’s May 23 article “Low-Income, Minority Families At Higher Risk From Formula Shortage.”

Matthew Beld, MPH, was interviewed live June 16 on KTVU about the UCSF LGBTQ+ Health Certificate for which Beld is the program manager.

Stacy Torres, PhD, and her work were cited in Bloomberg’s June 3 article “Lessons From the Golden Age of the Mall Walkers.”

Jim Gatewood, PhD, AGNP, was the subject of the feature profile, “Meeting the Need: A Nurse Practitioner Helps Bring Primary Care to San Francisco’s Mentally Ill and Homeless,” in the summer edition of Brown Alumni Magazine.

Andrew Penn, MS, PMHNP, was quoted in the article “Finding Clinical Placements for NP Students,” which published in The American Journal of Nursing’s June edition. In addition, Penn was cited in Clinical Trials Arena’s May 27 article “Hope and Hype: Psychedelic Drugs Still to Prove Value in Clinical Trials,” and was interviewed on ABC KGO 7 News about mental health. Because the news segment was on the day of the Texas school shooting, Penn was also asked for comments on the shooting.

Andrew Penn Among Panelists on Psychedelics as Therapy

Andrew Penn, MS, PMHNP, associate professor, was among the featured speakers on a panel titled “Visionary Approaches: Psychedelics as Therapy” at the Aspen Institute Health Ideas Festival in June.

Mijung Park Presents on Mental Health, Wellbeing

Mijung Park, PhD, MPH, RN, associate professor, was among the featured panelists who shared expertise during the May 26 webinar “Beyond the Bedside: AAPI Nurses as Changemakers Championing Mental Health and Wellbeing.” The webinar was hosted by the Philippine Nurses Association, All In Wellbeing First for Healthcare, First Responders First and the AAPI Nurses Association.

June Preceptor of the Month Honoree: Aurora Ortiz

Aurora Ortiz, MS, RN, PMHNP, an alumna of the school's Master's Entry Program in Nursing who earned her master’s degree in 2011, is the school's June Preceptor of the Month. Ortiz has a deep interest in clinical teaching, and enjoys supporting the next generation of psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners. Ortiz provides psychiatric services to students at UC Berkeley’s University Health Services, as well as to children and adolescents at La Clinica de la Raza in Oakland. Her clinical interests include Latinx mental health, immigrant mental health, transgender mental health, complex trauma, ADHD and integrative mental health. Read more about Ortiz and comments from her students on the Preceptor Portal.

Faculty Awarded Grants to Support Innovative Research

Elizabeth Gatewood, DNP, RN, FNP, associate professor, received a $96,000 grant from the California Department of Health Care Access and Information for her project "Song-Brown Family Nurse Practitioner/Physician Assistants."

Kristen Harknett, PhD, professor, received a grant from Harvard University for her project "Schedule Control at IKEA: How Does Worker Schedule Control Impact Employee Economic Security and Mobility."

Lauren Hunt, PhD, RN, FNP, assistant professor, received a $33,085 grant from the Northern California Institute for Res and Education, Inc.

Erin McCauley, PhD, MEd, MA, assistant professor, received a $27,053 School of Nursing Research Committee intramural grant, developed in collaboration with sociology PhD candidate Erin Johnson, for the project "Consequences of a History of Incarceration for Reproductive Health Services."

Kate Oppegaard, PhD student, received a $2,250 grant from the Internal Society of Nurses in Genetics for her project "Are Changes in Gene Expression Associated With Higher Levels of Co-Occurring Cancer-Related Cognitive Impairment and Anxiety in Outpatients Receiving Chemotherapy?"