USF College of Nursing’s Debra Gottel and students present poster at Undergraduate Research and Arts Colloquium

University of South Florida College of Nursing Instructor and USF CREATTE Scholar, Debra Gottel, MSN, MHS, RN, along with 15 undergraduate nursing students, presented a poster at the Undergraduate Research and Arts Colloquium held at the USF Marshall Center, April 17, 2013.

The students, under Gottel’s mentorship, presented a project titled “The Impact of a Simulated Auditory Hallucination Experience on Nursing Students’ Attitudes toward People with Mental Illness.”  They were among the 88 USF undergraduate students presenting at the event.

The USF Nursing students who were part of this project include: Sara Dominic, Ula Armashi, Summer Abukhodeir, Jessica Benette, Janel Canty, Brittany Durant, Ashley Huesman, Cintli Jauregui, Kathryn Garcia, Maria Klammer, Jaymie McAllister, Jessica Nemerovsky, Desiree Monnot, Larissa Pollock, and Noor Tamari.

The project was created through CREATTE (Creating Research Experiences and Activities Through Teaching Enhancement), a scholarship program developed by the USF Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR). As a CREATTE Scholar, Gottel enhanced the curriculum for undergraduate students by mentoring them through an advanced undergraduate research course.

This program helps stimulate interest and activities in research among undergraduate students within the classroom setting. OUR also offers small grant opportunities and support for undergraduate research incorporated within didactic courses. Gottel was named 2012-2013 CREATTE Scholar in August 2012. She received a grant to purchase equipment for the simulation and to develop a research project with students from the psychiatric mental health nursing course.

USF College of Nursing Professor and Associate Dean for Research and Innovation, Cindy Munro, PhD, RN, ANP-BC, FAAN, congratulated Gottel and all the undergraduate students for the successful completion of their CREATTE project.

“I was very impressed with both the project and with your presentation of results,” Dr. Munro said. “I know that this project, exploring how a simulated auditory hallucination experience affected the attitudes of nursing students toward people with mental illness, has been intellectually stimulating for you as undergraduate researchers. However, I am particularly excited by the potential contribution to nursing education and practice of the knowledge you have generated (and will seek to publish!). I believe that this experience will have a lasting effect- making you more thoughtful consumers of research in your clinical practice, with great benefit to the patients you care for!”

For related story on Debra Gotttel and her CREATTE Scholar students click here.