Four new Yale-Howard Scholars worked with faculty mentors from YSN and the Yale Child Study Center in June/July, 2006, bringing the total number of Scholars who have been mentored at Yale to over thirty since the program's inception in 2000. Sharita M. Liser, LeSabre Z. Bowens, Oluseyi Sofoluwe, and Foluke Oladeinde (bottom row in photo above with several of their mentors) are Howard University Division of Nursing (HUDON) students who participated in an intensive six-week summer internship which introduced them to nursing research. This year's Yale mentors included Lawrence Scahill, Robin Whittemore, Terri Clark, Kris Fennie and Jane Dixon from YSN and Karen Bearss, a postdoctoral fellow at the Yale Child Study Center.
"Each student identified a research question and pursued that interest through mentored research, seminars, and shadowing of advanced practice nurses. This provided the Yale Howard Scholars with access to a significant amount of data and the support and guidance of a research team, but also allowed them to work independently," explained Coretta Jenerette, YSN post-doctoral fellow and project director at the Yale-Howard Scholars Program.
"The summer experience at Yale is designed to enrich the Scholars' understanding of research, the role of the advanced practice registered nurse and the impact of clinical nursing research on the health of individuals and families," said Marjorie Funk, YSN professor and director of the Yale-Howard Partnership Center on Health Disparities.
The summer experience concluded on July 10, 2006 with the Scholars' final presentation about their research project. YSN and HUDON faculty and members of the Yale/New Haven community were in attendance. The presentations were as follows:
Sharita M. Liser (mentors: Karen Bearss and Lawrence Scahill)
"Cultural Sensitivity of a Manualized Parent Training Program in a Community Mental Health Center"
LeSabre Z. Bowens (mentors: Terri Clark and Kris Fennie)
"HIV and Pregnancy in Rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa"
Oluseyi Sofoluwe (mentor: Jane Dixon)
"Minorities' Concerns and Actions in Relation to Pollution Types in Their Neighborhood"
Foluke Oladeinde (mentor: Robin Whittemore)
"Self-Management of Chronic Illness in Adults with Diverse Ethnicities and Lower Socioeconomic Status"
