Learn more about the URI College of Nursing programs here<\/strong><\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\nAmong that group is the URI College of Nursing, where students have access to the state-of-the-art Nursing Education Center, which opened in Providence in 2017. The center is the educational anchor of a regional hub for health care learning, practice and biomedical research sprouting up on land once occupied by Interstate-195. It houses URI\u2019s graduate nursing programs, from its master\u2019s degree offering \u2014 which U.S. News & World Report ranks in the nation\u2019s top 100 \u2014 to doctor of nurse practitioner and Ph.D. degree tracks. The NEC contains multiple research and practice labs, including advanced simulation labs, where nurse practitioner students hone their skills in a lifelike hospital or in-home setting.<\/p>\n
\u201cWorking in this type of environment gives nurses and nurse practitioners a different way to look at the patient experience,\u201d D\u2019Agata said. \u201cBeing able to understand what\u2019s happening to a patient from a more physiological perspective will help them improve nursing practice, and ultimately care.\u201d<\/p>\n
The College should soon have another state-of-the-art research lab for students to utilize, thanks to D\u2019Agata\u2019s efforts to secure a RO1 grant from the National Institutes of Health for a genetics and epigenetics research lab. The College anticipates receiving the funding in Spring 2019.<\/p>\n
The grant and the lab are part of D\u2019Agata\u2019s biobehavioral research into the environment of the NICU and how it may influence neurodevelopment. Treatment received in intensive care can be stressful for the patient, particularly premature newborns who have a biological predisposition to stress, D\u2019Agata said. She has broken down the levels of stress infants experience into four categories \u2014 Extreme (such treatments as intubation or chest tube insertion; Very (blood work, IV insertion); Moderate (diaper changes, position changes); and Mild (everyday activities like taking a bath).<\/p>\n
\u201cWe measure daily stress and pain exposure over a period of time,\u201d D\u2019Agata said. \u201cWhen babies are very premature or very sick, even moderate stress can be perceived. What does that stress mean for brain development?\u201d<\/p>\n
In the new bench lab, D\u2019Agata and her team will measure stress hormones like cortisol, study genotypes and examine biomarkers through saliva, blood and urine samples to help determine those infants who are predisposed to stress, and how standard care in the NICU is impacting them.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe end goal is to look for opportunities to modify practice to decrease stress exposure at such a vulnerable time,\u201d D\u2019Agata said. \u201cReally, all the work is focused on finding ways to better support infants.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition to continuing her research, D\u2019Agata teaches pediatrics, pediatric simulation and genetics to undergraduate and grad students, and is adding an online course on precision medicine in the Spring 2019 semester. Her research isn\u2019t limited only to infants. She works collaboratively with other faculty members focused on biobehavioral research into children and adults. Working in a research lab helps expand students\u2019 experience, improve their patient care skills and expose them to new opportunities in the profession.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are many different ways faculty members can expose you to the profession,\u201d D\u2019Agata said. \u201cIt\u2019s all about providing a well-rounded growth experience for students.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Neonatal expert spearheads efforts for new lab, increased research experience Nurses, nurse practitioners and nursing students continue to spend more time at the bench conducting lab science, which not only contributes to the advancement of medical research, but also helps them achieve a deeper understanding of their patients\u2019 condition, improving the care they provide. University […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1710,"featured_media":12051,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12049","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/nursing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12049","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/nursing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/nursing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/nursing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1710"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/nursing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12049"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/nursing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12049\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12148,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/nursing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12049\/revisions\/12148"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/nursing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12051"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/nursing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12049"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/nursing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12049"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/nursing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12049"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}