Nursing Honors Program

Abbey Harrison
Faculty Mentor: Jennifer Woo, PhD

Favorite memory from the Nursing Honors Program
The lovely congratulations I received for the achievements I truly fought for. I am really looking forward to graduation – the pinnacle of celebration!

I also liked the plays at Denton theatre. I saw a Country-Western Romeo and Juliet and also Hunchback of Notre Dame. They were so brilliant. I liked greeting students and highlighting their names to record their attendance at such events as a former Social and Cultural Committee leader.

I served on the annual HSP Freshman Retreat planning committee. We put on a great out-of-this-world alien-themed 2-day event. It was executed well, and I enjoyed giving advice to freshman nursing students. I love the big-sister energy between nursing students of varying semesters.

Life lesson learned from mentor
My mentor said significance is greater than success. She shared a video from a former student who made this remark: “It’s not about having it all. It’s about doing it all with what you have.”

Describe your Capstone
Outcome Evaluation of the BLiSS Program on Afghan Maternal and Child Health

Birth Life Saving Skills (BLiSS) educates community members in Afghanistan about perinatal wellness due to staggering mother and neonatal mortality rates. This program evaluation documents female participant knowledge retention in Kabul, Afghanistan from 2015 to 2019.

BLiSS is a community-based program focused on educating families to recognize and prevent life-threatening perinatal complications. Men and women from the community explore how to recognize perinatal emergencies and respond in a series of 17 modules. Training is community based and delivered in the form of community-led facilitations, demonstrations, storytelling and simulation.

BLiSS participants are asked to verbally demonstrate knowledge using a verbal survey: E.g. “How to resuscitate baby?” This publication focuses on pre-test and post-test data. Results demonstrate that BLiSS is an effective perinatal education program showing improvement from 2015-2019, in correlation with a negative trend in Afghanistan’s estimated neonatal and maternal mortality rates (MMR) from the same time period.

Quote on leadership
“Fitting in is a barrier to a sense of belonging (Brene Brown), so I paint my own reality (Frida Kahlo).”

Leadership lesson learned
Leaders do more work than anyone else on the team, yet leaders need to humbly hold others’ achievements in high regard, praising them for progress made, focusing on self + others rather than self alone. It’s a hard and humble place to be.

I exercised leadership as the Founder & President of a new student organization at TWU Denton, LISTA.

Maggie Kelley
Faculty Mentor: Dionne Magner

Favorite memory from the Nursing Honors Program
My favorite memory is the GPHC conference and being the student who was asked the most questions. I was not expecting people to be so interested in what I had to say, and I loved getting to answer questions relating to a project that I had worked so hard on. Other than that, going through COVID-19 with my Honors cohort through Zoom and beyond brought close friendships that I so desperately needed in such an isolating time. I will forever remember and hold my faculty peers and mentors in my heart!

Life lesson learned from mentor
Reach for the stars! You just have to do it. It’ll figure itself out. I am capable of more than I could ever think!

Describe your Capstone
Changes in Nursing Students’ Pre-Exam Preparation Strategies During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The purpose of this project was to gather data on college students’ pre-exam psychological preparation practices pre and post the initial COVID-19 pandemic period. Data collected through an anonymous survey at the end of the Spring 2020 semester showed differences in pre-exam self-care practices employed by 62 baccalaureate nursing students at a multi-campus university in the U.S. Results showed that students adopted creative and new pre-exam routines while at home during the pandemic. This capstone led to the development of new student success resources on one campus which have now expanded across all of the university’s campuses, as well as the development of a new student organization on the Dallas campus relating to the promotion of wellbeing among nursing students.

Quote on leadership
“What you do has far greater impact than what you say” – Stephen Covey

Leadership lesson learned
I was so excited to do my capstone project, and we learned so many cool things about nursing students and how COVID affected them. However, a capstone project has proved to be so much more than a 10-page paper. From my findings, I was able to create resources for students to use that could help them prepare for online exams. Those resources inspired me to go beyond and create a student organization set to launch in Fall 2021. Inspired by Healthy Nurse Healthy Nation (for which I am a student ambassador thanks to capstone experience!), the student organization will focus on promoting self-care among nursing students in order to get them on track to reducing or preventing burnout, known to be prevalent among nurses. The organization will provide education on self-care, opportunities to practice self-care, as well as be a safe space for students to be vulnerable about their nursing experience. There is a stigma in nursing where you are expected to be miserable, and where you are expected to lack in self-care. My goal is to show students that this doesn't, and shouldn’t, have to be the case.

My capstone started as one thing and continued to develop into more than I could have ever imagined. I gained leadership skills that will stay with me throughout my nursing career. I am so thankful for the mentors who helped me throughout my capstone journey and for helping me grow as a student scholar and as a person.

Jazmine Maxwell
Faculty Mentor: Linda Merritt, PhD

Favorite memory from the Nursing Honors Program
My favorite memory from honors was when I studied abroad with the honors group my freshman year. I learned so much about different cultures and had a great time exploring various countries.

Life lesson learned from mentor
One of the most important things that I learned from my mentor was that it is okay to make mistakes. Taking that piece of advice really helped me throughout the Capstone process and writing my manuscript. Accepting that you might make mistakes takes a lot of pressure off of yourself. It helped me enjoy my capstone more instead of having anxiety around it.

Describe your Capstone
Exploring the Relationship Between NICU Nurses with Fathers

The purpose of this study was to explore fathers' perceptions of their needs in the NICU. Using a qualitative, descriptive design, the researchers interviewed 28 fathers who previously had a premature infant in the NICU. Data analysis was performed using the NVivo software. During analysis, the researchers discovered one of the most important needs of the fathers was the desire to have a relationship with the nurses. Five themes emerged along with four subthemes: need to be taught by nurses, need for professional and competent staff, need for nurses to care about the infant, need for consistent caregivers, and need for effective communicators.

Quote on leadership
“See yourself as a leader now. Leadership is an action, not a position.” — Cindy Pace

Leadership lesson learned
This is one of my favorite quotes about leadership because I think it can inspire everyone to be a leader in their daily lives. Leadership doesn’t have to be grand or heroic gestures, it can be small actions in everyday life. To me, leaders can inspire people to be their best selves just by living their lives authentically. This program has taught me how to have a leadership mindset, which I can carry with me throughout the rest of my life.

Marissa Maxwell
Faculty Mentor: Joy Spadachene

Favorite memory from the Nursing Honors Program
My favorite memory was being able to travel abroad to Switzerland, Italy, France, Monaco, and Spain with the Honors group. I loved trying French crepes and Swiss chocolate, seeing the Duomo in Milan, and exploring Park Güell and eating paella in Barcelona.

Life lesson learned from mentor
My mentor was working on her own PhD while teaching classes and mentoring me. Even though she was very busy, she always made time to give me feedback, answer my questions, and pass on the knowledge she’s learned. I am inspired by her ambition and hard work.

Describe your Capstone
Narrative Exploration of Honors Students Starting Clinical Nursing Courses During the COVID-19 Pandemic

This research explores the lived experience of baccalaureate pre-nursing students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Quote on leadership
"Anyone, anywhere can make a positive difference.” — Mark Sanborn

Leadership lesson learned
I resonate with this quote because it means that you don’t need to have a certain status or position to be a leader. Throughout my Capstone, there were many things I didn’t know how to do. From this experience, I’ve learned that it's okay to speak up and ask for help when I don't know something. Being a leader isn’t about knowing everything, but it’s about having the initiative to find the resources you need and bringing people together to achieve a common goal or dream.