College of Nursing Co-Sponsors Annual Research Day in Honor of Former Dean  

A painting of the College's third dean, Sister Agnes Reinkemeyer, Ph.D., R.N., hangs at the IHS campus in honor of her dedication to the development of nursing's science, practice and education.

On Friday, March 17, Gamma Nu, the College of Nursing's chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society, will present its 35th Annual Reinkemeyer Research Conference.

The event will take place 7:30 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. in Bethany Hall on Seton Hall University's South Orange campus. Sigma Theta Tau, the only international nursing honor society worldwide, is a global community of nurse leaders with more than 135,000 active members. Research Day will feature spoken and poster presentations of nursing research projects from across the United States.

For more information or to register, click here »

This conference is held in honor of the College's third dean, Sister Agnes Reinkemeyer, Ph.D., R.N., who strongly believed that research was key in nursing education and nursing practice. She joined the Franciscan Sisters of Mary in 1942 and was a 1966 graduate of the University of California at Berkeley with a Ph.D. in nursing education. She served as dean of nursing — the first to have earned a Ph.D. — from 1968 to 1977. Sister Agnes nurtured the initial graduate nursing programs and the College's chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International. In 1983, Sister Agnes left Seton Hall to return to work with the Franciscan Sisters of Mary in Africa. She was killed in 1989 by gunmen seeking money who opened fire at her healthcare mission in Kenya. 

The Annual Reinkemeyer Research Day continues Sister Reinkemeyer's dedication to the development of nursing's science, practice and education. Nursing researchers and clinical nursing experts from Seton Hall, as well as RWJ Barnabas Health, Hackensack Meridian Health, Edinburgh Napier University (Scotland), Atlantic Health System and Rutgers University, will gather virtually to discuss the latest developments in nursing practice and research. 

This year's keynote speaker will be Susan W. Salmond, Ed.D., R.N., ANEF, FAAN, who serves as executive vice dean and professor at Rutgers University School of Nursing, and co-director of the Northeast Institute for Evidence Synthesis and Translation. Her presentation, "Best Evidence to Guide Practice: Focus on Emotional Well-Being of Nurses," will focus on practice-based evidence versus evidence-based practice. While it is widely accepted that evidence-based practice is critical to guiding nursing practice, there is little evidence-based practice to support interventions that address one of the most crucial issues in nursing today: the retention of nurses in the context of a chronic, pernicious nursing shortage. Salmond will discuss the inconsistencies in the evidence around interventions to support nurse resilience and well-being and why that evidence is poor.

In addition, a lecture on "Using Archival Research to Better Understand Nursing History: Scotland's Healers and Midwives Accused of Witchcraft (1563-1736)" will be presented by Nicola A. Ring, Ph.D., Nessa McHugh, Ph.D. and Rachel Davidson-Welch from Edinburgh Napier University, Scotland; and Bethany Reed, LLB, from Morton Fraser Lawyers in Edinburgh, Scotland. Scotland's Witchcraft Act was introduced in 1563 and remained law until 1736. During that time nearly 4,000 people, mainly women, were accused of witchcraft. Based on their research, the presenters will tell the stories of some of the Scottish women and men cruelly and unfairly accused and punished for helping others, talk about their healing practices and reflect on what they did from a modern healthcare perspective.

Registration fees (includes breakfast and lunch):
General public: $50.00
Seton Hall CON graduate students: $30.00
Seton Hall CON Faculty: Free, inform Katherine Black of attendance via email

Attendance of this event qualifies nurse attendees for 4.5 contact hours.

Seton Hall University College of Nursing is accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation – P196-10/20-23. 4.5 Contact Hours will be awarded for this activity. Planners, content experts and speakers have declared no conflict of interest. There is no commercial support for this activity. To successfully earn a contact hour certificate participants must stay for the entire program and evaluations must be completed before certificates will be awarded.

Categories: Health and Medicine, Research