By Erica Techo
University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing postdoctoral scholar Courtney Sullivan, PhD, APRN, CPNP-AC, CPHON (MSN 2013, PhD 2021), has received a microgrant from DRIVEN, the UAB Center for Outcomes and Effectiveness Research and Education and UAB Heersink School of Medicine.
Sullivan is one of five individuals to receive this microgrant, a small, internal grant that can support activities that enhance training and research productivity. DRIVEN—Driving Research: An Interdisciplinary, Vibrant, Engaged Network—supports interdisciplinary investigators, providing means to promote their work and advance their professional development.
As a DRIVEN grant recipient, Sullivan will apply the microgrant toward a certificate program in the application of mixed methods research. This will supplement the credits supported by her existing Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) through Institutional (T32) National Research Training Award.
“Although the T32 award supports six credits of coursework per year, the DRIVEN microgrant will cover additional coursework that is required for the Mixed Methods Research certificate program,” Sullivan said. “One of my postdoctoral fellowship goals is to attain the Mixed Methods Research program certificate. The DRIVEN microgrant will offset these additional course costs, while also supporting my continued engagement in national and international professional societies.”
Sullivan’s primary research focus is to develop a core set of nursing-sensitive quality indicators (NSI) for international pediatric oncology nursing practice while supporting a multidisciplinary team approach on important aspects of care, such as palliative care, symptom assessment and infection prevention and control.
“It is imperative to involve interprofessional and multilevel stakeholders throughout the development, implementation and continuous evaluation of any health care quality initiative. Their input will ensure the end product meets a practical need, while maintaining flexibility and relevance to continue to address quality concerns over time,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan will finalize a preliminary core set of nursing-sensitive quality indicators during her postdoctoral study, which is a step toward her goal to gain further insight into these indicators in order to improve overall nursing practice.
“My long-term goal is to establish a cooperative of international hospitals and organizations to measure core NSIs for pediatric oncology, compare with similar institutions, and generate much needed nursing outcomes evidence. Ideally this cooperative will promote knowledge sharing and improve nursing practice and patient outcomes through best practice implementation,” Sullivan said.
