Belmont students Cody Fincher and Drew Ferguson were recently named as the recipients of a finance scholarship funded by Regions Banks. Middle Tennessee Regions President Jim Schmitz visited campus to meet the students. Dean of the Jack C. Massey College of Business, Dr. Pat Rains and Associate Dean, Dr. Stan York, joined the students in the presentation and expressed the University’s gratitude towards Regions support of Belmont and the Nashville community.
Students Receive Regions Bank Finance Scholarship
Chemistry Professors and Students Present at SERMACS
Several Chemistry department faculty members and students recently participated in the Southeastern Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society (SERMACS) held in Nashville, TN, Oct. 16-19. American Chemical Society Regional Meetings are organized by ACS Local Sections and reflect the diverse professional interests in their geographic regions. These meetings feature technical programs on a variety of topics, poster sessions, expositions and social events.
On Oct. 17, Chemistry professors Drs. Rachel Rigsby and Kimberlee Daus moderated the symposia on “The Future of Chemical Education: Addressing the Needs of ALL our Students.” In addition to proposing the symposia and inviting speakers, Daus and Rigsby also presented a session entitled “The Power of Experiential Learning: Leveraging your General Education Curriculum to Invigorate your Chemistry Courses.”
On Oct. 18, three students from Belmont’s SMACS (Student Members of the American Chemical Society) organization participated in the SERMACS Undergraduate Program College Chemistry Bowl. The Belmont team of Chemistry majors, Ryan Agh, Victoria Lim and Daniel Beagan, competed against the University of Alabama – Birmingham on chemistry topics of organic, nuclear, and inorganic chemistry.
Senior Victoria Lim, a double major in chemistry and mathematics, presented in the Undergraduate Research Symposium: Physical Chemistry I on Oct. 17. Her presentation was titled “Computational Analysis of Conformational Tunneling of Glyoxylic Acid”. Junior Adam Woods, a chemistry major, presented in the Undergraduate Poster session on Oct. 19. Adam’s presentation on “Contrast Agents: New Positively Charged Contrast Agents for Diagnosis of Osteoarthritis” was based on research he conducted this past summer through a National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates program at Boston University.
Tennessee Nurses Association Elects New Leadership at Annual Membership Assembly
Nurses across the state will have a new team advocating for their interests and the state’s nursing 
initiatives. The Tennessee Nurses Association (TNA) held its annual Membership Assembly Oct. 10-12 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee and elected a new officer team. Belmont Assistant Nursing Professor Sandy Murabito, was selected as the President-elect for the governing body.
“This year’s meeting ushered in a new strategic direction for the Association,” says TNA President Frances Sills. “Each of these members bring experience and passion for the nursing profession and I am confident they will guide this organization to new levels of excellence.”
Belmont Instructor of Nursing Tracy Wilson was elected to the nominating committee, and senior nursing major Daniel Maison was elected president of the Middle Tennessee Association of Student Nurses.
Dean of Belmont’s College of Health Sciences and Nursing Dr. Cathy Taylor said, “This is wonderful recognition for nursing at Belmont. I have no doubt Ms. Wilson and Mr. Maison will excel in their new roles, and Dr. Murabito will provide the strong leadership the TNA presidency demands. She is an experienced advocate and will prove to be a worthy champion for Tennessee nurses.”
Physical Therapy Student Research Published in Journal
A research group of third year graduate students in the School of Physical Therapy, under the direction of Drs. Pat Sells and Kevin Robinson, had a manuscript published in the October issue of The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, the official research medium of the National Strength and Conditioning Association.
“We had conversations several years ago with a company making wearable performance jewelry,” explained Dr. Sells, “and agreed to conduct research that clinically tested claims that the product, which included a variety of technologies such as copper, negative ions, holograms, etc., enhanced performance with improved balance, agility and power.” The students utilized about 60 aerobic exercise tests with subjects under three different conditions – when not wearing the jewelry, when placebo jewelry and when wearing jewelry with the performance enhancing technology. The clinical tests found that the wrist bands had no impact on performance.
The students, who have since graduated with their Doctorate of Physical Therapy degrees, included Hannah Cavicchio, Brittney Everhart, Brandon Grass and Jonathan Lambert.
School of Physical Therapy Alumnus Hired by NBA’s Miami Heat
Belmont alumnus, Dr. Brandon Gilliam, has been named Director of Rehab and Assistant Athletic Trainer for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association. Dr. Gilliam earned his Doctorate of Physical Therapy degree from Belmont University School of Physical Therapy in 2005. Upon graduation, he began working in private practice clinics in the Nashville area from 2005-2013. He also provided sports medicine coverage at Christ Presbyterian Academy from 2005-2009.
Prior to accepting the position with the Heat, Gilliam traveled extensively and taught continuing education courses to health care professionals with the North American Sports Medicine Institute. In addition, for the past several years, Dr. Gilliam served as an adjunct within the Belmont University School of Physical Therapy. In his final year in Nashville, Dr. Gilliam started his own business consulting with professional and collegiate teams and individual athletes as well as providing concierge physical therapy and fitness services for entertainers and athletes. In his current role as Director of Rehab, Dr. Gilliam is responsible for maintaining the day to day health of all Miami Heat players.
Belmont Professors Published in Tennessee Council of Teachers of English Publication
The interdisciplinary team of Belmont University professors who hosted a food and gardening professional development workshop for area teachers in May were recently published as the lead article in the TN Council of Teachers of English’s peer reviewed publication, Visions and Revisions.
Drs. Lauren Lunsford (Education), Bonnie Smith Whitehouse (English), Sally Barton-Arwood (Education), Kim Daus (Chemistry), Kate McGowan (Education) and Darlene Panvini (Biology) published the article Rooted in Informational Texts: Using Cooking and Gardening to address the CCSS ELA.
This is one of several ways the group is continuing to reach area teachers. 20 middle and high school teachers attended the May workshop on “Food & Gardening: Growing Partnerships between Science Teachers and English Teachers to Support Instruction of the 1-12 Reading (Literature and Informational Text) CC Standards.”
School of Nursing Faculty Presents Work on End of Life Simulation
School of Nursing instructor Sara Camp gave a peer reviewed presentation of her work on end of life simulations for undergraduate nursing students at the National League for Nursing Technology Conference held in Nashville in October. She will also present aspects of this work at the Tennessee Simulation Alliance Conference in November.
“Helping students learn to provide holistic care at the end of life is a priority in nursing education. Opportunities for students to learn deeply about this may not present themselves in routine clinical rotations. Simulation creates a powerful opportunity for this learning to take place. Our students have received tremendous benefit from the end-of-life simulations and I’m so pleased that Ms. Camp is disseminating this work.” said Associate Dean of Nursing, Martha Buckner.
Nursing Students Participate in End of Life Simulation
With an emphasis on experiential learning, Belmont’s School of Nursing provides students with the opportunity to participate in human simulation labs. For Nursing Instructor Sara Camp’s Adult Health II students, this meant taking part in an End of Life lab that simulated the death of a patient, with a volunteer acting as a grieving family member.
When the participating students arrived, they were aware of their patient, Lisa’s, prognosis. Equipped with her report, they were tasked with guiding Lisa and her family member through her final stages of life. As Lisa’s heart rate and pulse slowed, the volunteer family member’s questions sped up. Similar to what would occur in a hospital setting, students were responsible for providing care and comfort for the patient, while assisting the family during a particularly challenging time.
Belmont University Web and Marketing Developer Jon Blankenship participated in the simulation because of a personal connection he has to caregivers who specialize in end of life treatment. His father was recently diagnosed with end stage colon cancer and through the experience, “the one constant we have is how wonderful Dad’s nurses are to him and to us,” Blankenship said. The opportunity to contribute to the education of a nurse who could play that same role for a family in the future was what made Jon sign on. For those nurses, “there aren’t enough thanks to give,” he said.
Camp is committed to equipping students with the skills needed to care for the family system, not just the patients they are assigned. Often, nurses are expected to be experts on caring for patients in their final stages of life in a hospital, regardless of their training or comfort level. Camp said many bedside nurses aren’t confident in the end of life training they have received and because of that, are not adequate resources for new nurses to turn to. “Given that the end of life is such an important event in the life of our patients and their families, it seems irresponsible to leave this to on the job training,” she said.
Senior nursing major and simulation participant Blair Bailey would agree. “It is nice to have practiced skills in lab, prior to actually performing the skills in the hospital,” she said. “I will definitely be able to take what I learned from this simulation and take the experience into the real world as a nurse.”
In a debrief following the simulation, senior nursing major Mark Wolter, discussed the challenge of moving from a proactive treatment mentality to one that comforts the family and patient through the final stages of life. Because of Lisa’s signed DNR and DNI, once the final stages of life had come, there was no medical intervention that could be done. Instead of working to raise a heartbeat once it had dropped, the care team was responsible for ensuring the comfort and ease of both the patient and the family. “At this point in a patient’s care, you are treating everyone close to the patient, and you realize the impact that you can have as a nurse in keeping the situation as peaceful as possible,” he said.
Through this and countless other simulations included in Belmont’s program, students are given the opportunity to practice their skills through first hand experiences, preparing them for clinicals and post-graduation careers. Wolter said he is grateful for the emphasis Belmont puts on experiential learning and knows the program continues to advocate for more and more opportunities. “I’m a nail and hammer kind of learner, so that has helped me in a profound way,” he said. “The experiences I have had while at Belmont are beneficial because I have had varying experiences that I will build from in my first job and first few years as a nurse. I am thankful.”
Belmont Professor Presents at Sport Marketing Conference
Assistant Professor of Sport Administration Dr. Ted Peetz presented his work on teaching negotiation strategies in the classroom at the Sport Marketing Association National Conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The presentation was part of the pedagogy symposium and showcased class exercises used to teach concepts of negotiation theory. The activities utilize games to spark student interest and understanding of negotiation strategies and outcomes. He also served as one of six academic judges for the national student case study competition sponsored by The Aspire Group.
Dr. Ted Peetz is an Assistant Professor of Sports Science and specializes in Sports Education Leadership. You can find out more about Dr. Peetz here and more about Belmont University’s Department of Sports Science here.
Belmont Professors Present at Conference of South Central Modern Language Association
Drs. Natalia Pelaz and Mitch McCoy recently attended and presented papers at the 71st Annual Conference of the South Central Modern Language Association (SCMLA) on Oct. 18-23 in Austin, Texas.
Dr. Pelaz delivered her paper, “De retornos y exilios: la figura del indiano en la literatura de los exiliados españoles en Cuba,” and was also elected by the Spanish 20th and 21st Century Peninsular Literature section as the session Chairperson for the SCMLA Conference in November 2015 at the Marriott Vanderbilt in Nashville.
Dr. Natalia Pelaz is an Assistant Professor of Spanish and specializes in Spanish Language for exiles and displaced peoples. You can find out more about Dr. Pelaz here.
Dr. Mitch McCoy presented a paper entitled, “The Dialogical Nature of Quevedo’s Heráclito cristiano: Negotiating Metaphysical Belief.” Having served this year as secretary for the section of Spanish Peninsular Literature Before 1700, Dr. McCoy will assume the role of Chairperson for the section in November 2015 when the SCMLA will hold its conference at the Marriott Vanderbilt.
Dr. Mitch McCoy is an Assistant Professor of Spanish and specializes in Spanish Language for Professions, Early Modern Spanish Literature and Culture, Intersections of Literature and Religion. You can find out more about Dr. McCoy here and more about Belmont University’s Department of Foreign Languages here.
