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Hi!  My name is Miriam Heller and I am a CRNA student and will be graduating next year! I moved from NYC to Philly for school last year where I worked as an ICU nurse.
I took some research classes in undergrad however it has been a while..  I am looking forward to this class as being able to read and understand research article is very important in my career in order to provide patients the most up to date evidence based practice.
While excited for this class I am nervous since it has been a while since I have taken a research class. Furthermore we have a very intensive clinical schedule so time management will be important!

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My name is Rachel Franz and I currently live in Willow Grove, PA, which is outside of Philadelphia. I graduated from Bloomsburg University with my BSN in 2014 and have been practicing as a nurse for four and a half years at Fox Chase Cancer Center. I work on the surgical stepdown unit and recently passed my PCCN certification. I am looking forward to attending the NTI conference this May in Orlando, FL and enhance my knowledge of critical care.
Although I have taken a nursing research course during my undergraduate program, I am still a little apprehensive about diving back into the realm of nursing research. I am involved in Performance Improvement at Fox Chase which I am hoping with help me. I hope to enhance my knowledge of nursing research and became more comfortable with research overall.
This is my third semester at Drexel and I am in the Family Nurse Practitioner Tract.
Last June, my fiancé
and I got engaged and are in the process of planning our wedding for this October 18th! Although wedding planning is fun, I am also apprehensive about balancing work, wedding planning and school (especially with the warm weather approaching!) We have a dog named Sansa and yes - we are also patiently awaiting for the final season of Game of Thrones to start next Sunday!
Best of luck to all this semester!

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My name is Crystal Crosman and I live in Hanover, PA. I am currently employed as a "weekend warrior" in the Emergency Department as a Registered Nurse. I absolutely love the fast-paced atmosphere.

I'm in Drexel's MSN Nursing Education program in hopes to teach one day. I love to watch cooking shows, although, I do minimal cooking, haha. As a new mother of two (soon to be three!!) I enjoy long walks in the grocery store alone. I also really like independent trips to the bathroom and not sharing my food with others. Just kidding...sort of.

I have not ever taken a research course. Although, I thoroughly enjoy nursing research.

If I'm being honest, procrastination is always a concern for me in school. However, more now than ever, I'm dedicated and have a fantastic support system to help me be successful!

I hope to learn how to better interpret research information to be able to apply it in my nursing profession.

I look forward to this class and meeting all of you!

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My name is Jennifer Bradshaw and I live in Amarillo, TX. I have been a nurse for 7 years. I background is NICU and pediatrics. I am currently work at the VA Hospital in quality. I am the EPRP liaison and surgical quality nurse. I also work with front line staff and physicians to improve the care for the veterans and to improve work flow for the staff. I received my ADN from Amarillo college and my bachelor degree from the University of Texas at Arlington. After I received my bachelor's degree I have wanted to become a nurse advocate, as nurses we always advocate for our patients so I feel that someone should be advocating for them. I am able to do that in my current job and I plan to be coxed further involved in the state legislature as well. This is my first semester. I am also a single mom of three. I want them to know that no matter what life throws at you, you can achieve your goals. Good luck to everyone in their programs!!

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My name is Bridget Arbour.  I grew up in Monmouth County, NJ and lived in Philadelphia for a few years after college, but now I am located outside San Francisco, CA.  I have lived here for 14 years and have worked in the PICU of Oakland Children's Hospital the whole time.  I am in the Acute Care Pediatric NP track and hope to join a specialty team in this area as an NP.  I have been involved peripherally in some of the research that has gone on our PICU and am interested in refreshing my memory from nursing school about what is REALLY significant!
Spring is here in California, so my garden is off the hook!

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Hello Everyone!

My name is Christin Rollis and I currently live in Bensalem, PA. I have worked on a Medical Surgical unit at Temple University Hospital for a little over a year now. I am a new to practice nurse who completed the ACE program at Drexel University in June of 2017. This is my first time taking a research class and I am beyond scared/nervous! I was especially nervous when we did not have a zoom session this week to review the syllabus as a class; sorry I guess I have been a little spoiled 3 quarters in now. Research is not something I particularly am interested in but I do recognize that it is necessary. I hope that through this course I can change my views of research and my uneasiness with this topic as a whole. The syllabus is VERY intimidating! I am a single mother to a very active 8 year old girl. Between working full-time, weekly OT, dance competition practice 3x weekly and balancing class I am extremely busy. I wish everyone a successful quarter.

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Hi, I'm Joanna. I live in center city Philadelphia and I've been a nurse for about six years. I am in the nurse education program. I work at Penn Presbyterian on a thoracic surgery and cardiology stepdown. I haven't taken any nursing research courses, but my first degree was in research heavy art history. Unfortunately that kind of research is very different than scientific research! I hope to find this course applicable to my bedside practice. I'm attaching a picture of me, my parents, and my boyfriend from the last time they visited.

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My name is Kristen Parkes, I am in my third quarter of Drexel's Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner program. I graduated from Penn State with a BSN, and currently live in Philadelphia, PA. I have been a nurse for four years, the past three I have worked in Pediatrics. I have experience in pediatric behavioral health (2 years) and currently work at A.I. DuPont hospital for children in Wilmington DE on a MedSurg/ICU step down. In the future, I hope to help AIDHC build their psychiatric care programs. I am VERY nervous about this class, as I have not taken a research course since undergrad and it was never my strong suit. Statistics and statistical analysis seem like another language to me, but I hope that by the end of this course I will not feel that way. When I am not working or doing school work (which feels like never), I enjoy traveling, spending time with friends and family, and playing with our 2 year old mutt, Charlie. Here is a photo of my boyfriend and I last weekend at a wedding in Charleston, South Carolina.

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My name is Jackie, and I currently live in Montclair, NJ. I've worked at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center for the past 11 years. I spent 9 of them in the neonatal intensive care unit, and the past 2 in the cardiac cath lab. I am entering my 3rd quarter of the women's health track for NP. The last time I took a research class was undergrad. I am a little apprehensive to starting this class, but I think we will all prevail. I am hoping to learn more about research and feel more comfortable when the time comes to do my own. I find time management the most difficult part of going back to school while working full time and trying to have a social life and maintain your own health and wellness. I've done some of my own research on functional medicine and nutrition the past year or two. It's amazing to see the ways healthcare could change in the future.

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My name is Amy Brender.  I am sorry that I am a little late to the party.  My husband is in the Navy and had to step out of town for a bit.  I have 3 young, crazy, and active kids who have tied up my time this week.  We currently live in Virginia, but who knows how long that will lastJ  We usually move to a new location every 3-4 years.  This keeps us on our toes.

I am pretty sure that I haven’t taken a research course since my first time in nursing school, which was a little over 20 years ago.  I was a Labor & Delivery nurse for 18 years before I moved into a Quality Nurse position.  I read and apply research all the time to improve processes, but I will admit that it intimidates me 100%.  I hope to gain more confidence through becoming familiar with all of the concepts again.

I love to see all of the Golden Retrievers in the pictures.  We have 2, and they are the most loving creatures in the world!

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Hi Everyone!
My name is Heather McKenna and I currently live in New Jersey. I am a labor and delivery nurse at Morristown Medical Center. This will be my first time taking a research class so I am a little bit nervous! I hope I am able to learn new things and be able to use them in my current role as an RN on my labor and delivery unit. I recently just had a baby, he is 6 months old and I am loving every minute of motherhood, just trying to find that work/life/school balance! I am looking forward to this class and meeting everyone!

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My name is Steven McDonald and I am currently in the Nurse Education program at Drexel. I am from Girardville, PA which is about 2.5 hours Northwest of Philadelphia. I currently work at the Janet Weis Children’s Hospital at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, PA on a Pediatric Medical-Surgical unit specializing in ages 0 to 8 years old. I obtained my BSN from DeSales University in 2017 and also obtained a BS in Neuroscience from Susquehanna University in 2016. I have taken multiple research and statistics classes at the undergraduate level; however, this would be my first graduate research class. Throughout this course I would like to advance my abilities to conduct research and adequately use statistics to help influence my research findings.

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My name is Lauryn Kenney and I currently work on an adult inpatient psychiatric unit. I just moved to Boalsburg, PA this past week and started a new job (I was also working inpatient psychiatry at my last job). This is my third quarter of the Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner program. I did take a research course during my BSN program at Bloomsburg University and while it was interesting to learn more about using research to improve patient care, I also found it difficult to understand at times. I struggled with looking through articles and finding the different clues necessary to identify the level of research or the methods used to achieve the end result. I am hoping that this course will help solidify the things I learned during my undergraduate research course while also teaching me new things that will allow me to feel more comfortable in the researcher role.

I have four cats and a one-year-old lab that I love spending time with. I enjoy crocheting and watching Food Network/HGTV in my free time. I am excited to start this course and get to know everyone!

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Hello Research 503!

My name is Madison Bingaman and I am a postpartum/newborn nurse in the Women’s Health Gender Related NP program at Drexel. I work in Harrisburg, PA and grew up in a smalltown about 30 minutes north. I have taken a research course while completing my BSN at Bloomsburg University of PA. Research is not my favorite topic, but I do understand its importance to the nursing profession. I think what I struggled most with was identifying different research methods and using a variety of those methods to support my projects. With this course, I hope to establish more successful and efficient ways to complete research projects.

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Hello Everyone! My name is Patrice Cunningham and I reside in Charlotte, NC where I work with a Women’s Health Unit at a local hospital. My background consists of Labor and Delivery, Postpartum, and High Risk Postpartum.  This is my first year with Drexel and I am enrolled in the Women’s Health Gender Related Nurse Practitioner Program. Previously I completed a research course during my undergraduate studies however I am excited to learn about research at the graduate level. More specifically, I want to improve my knowledge of reliability, validity, and sensitivity because this was an area of weakness for me during my undergraduate studies. I look forward to working with everyone this term!

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Hi! My name is Marisa Salmieri. I currently live outside of Philadelphia, PA and work at a pediatric hospital called St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children in the city. I have been an RN for four years and am enrolled in the MSN program with the concentration of Leadership in Health Management. I took your basic nursing research course my third year of my BSN. It has been a while since using some of the research language so I am definitely nervous about making sure I learn everything I need to know. I enjoyed research in the BSN program so I am hoping that this course will result in the same enjoyment. I look forward to learning with all of you in this course!

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My name is Kristi Luker and I am currently in my second year in the nursing anesthesia program. I have lived in Pittsburgh, PA the last 7 years until I moved to Philly last January to begin the Anesthesia program. I have taken a research course previously while obtaining my BSN and my main concern is balancing the course load with my clinical schedule while on demanding specialty rotations as well as meeting the course expectations since it has been many years since my last research course. I hope to gain a good foundation of graduate level research and evaluation that Ill be able to use for my upcoming research courses and research project. I look forward to working with everyone this quarter.
Kristi

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Hi All!  My name is Laura Hamel and I am in my third quarter of the Women’s Health NP program.  I currently work as a nurse in a busy center city Philadelphia outpatient OBGYN practice.  Prior to moving into the outpatient setting, I worked at Hahnemann Hospital in GYN surgery and GYN oncology.

I recently moved to Havertown (suburb of Philadelphia) where I am raising my two incredible kids, ages 8 and 10.  Activities with my kids keep me busy and we love to spend time outdoors, take trips to the beach and have movie nights.  Outside of work and school I enjoy yoga, trying new restaurants and I travel to NY frequently to visit my family and friends.

I have not taken any research courses, but I really look forward to learning.  I take care of patients daily who are involved in clinical research studies and I know the information will be useful in future courses as well as my career as a nurse and NP.  My concern for this course is balancing the workload.  This is my first quarter taking two classes while working full-time and being a full-time mom.  Good luck everyone!

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Hi Prof Ward and fellow classmates! My name is Liz Sokolski and I am beginning 3rd quarter in the PMHNP track. I currently live in the Wissahickon section of Philly, after attending college at the Univ of Pittsburgh and then receiving my BSN from Drexel’s ACE program in 2011.  I currently work at an inpatient psychiatric hospital in Philly. Like a lot of you have stated, I did take a research course in my undergrad nursing program and a statistics course at Pitt but definitely am viewing this course with a level of trepidation!  Those classes were many years ago and I feel that I haven’t retained much from them.  But I am very much looking forward to gaining an expanded knowledge of research methods and working with you all this quarter!  When I’m not doing schoolwork or working, I love being outdoors with my American Pitbull Terrier, Micah!  I traveled to Iceland in November 2017, it was an incredible trip! Below is a pic! 

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Hi Prof Ward and fellow classmates! My name is Liz Sokolski and I am beginning 3rd quarter in the PMHNP track. I currently live in the Wissahickon section of Philly, after attending college at the Univ of Pittsburgh and then receiving my BSN from Drexel’s ACE program in 2011.  I currently work at an inpatient psychiatric hospital in Philly. Like a lot of you have stated, I did take a research course in my undergrad nursing program and a statistics course at Pitt but definitely am viewing this course with a level of trepidation!  Those classes were many years ago and I feel that I haven’t retained much from them.  But I am very much looking forward to gaining an expanded knowledge of research methods and working with you all this quarter!  When I’m not doing schoolwork or working, I love being outdoors with my American Pitbull Terrier, Micah!  I traveled to Iceland in November 2017, it was an incredible trip! Below is a pic! 

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My name is Bryanna York and I live in Nashville, TN. I currently work at a psychiatric hospital and a women's addiction facility. This is my third quarter in the PMHNP program. I have taken a research course previously while obtaining my BSN. I hope to learn and understand statistical data and results that are in articles.

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My name is Alexandra Archer, but I go by Lexie. I grew up in Hilton Head, SC and went to Penn State where I met my husband. We currently live in Havertown, PA and we have two lovely, spirited girls (3 and 6 years old) and a sweet, 13 year old yellow Labrador retriever.  I have been a nurse for 11 years and am currently pursuing my MSN in Education. At this time, I work at a large teaching hospital in Philadelphia and have enjoyed practicing in various settings including a telemetry floor, an ED and two outpatient practices. I have taken undergraduate research and stat classes, but this will be my first course at a graduate level. I am certainly nervous, but equally excited as I am currently involved in two research projects. It is my hope that this course will not only strengthen my foundation of knowledge, but will be able to be further applied to my projects and future endeavors. Outside of work and school, I enjoy running, spending time outdoors, and being with my friends and family, preferably at the beach! Here is a picture of my crew. It was nice meeting you all! Best of luck, everyone!

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Hello Everyone! My name is Shannon Combee I am entering my second quarter of Drexel's MSN program on the Clinical Nurse Leader Track.  I currently work as the acting Clinical Nurse Leader at a Veteran's Affairs Hospital in the ED. My nursing experience thus far has included pediatric inpatient and ED nursing and now adult ED nursing. I currently live in Norfolk Virginia with my husband and dog.  I graduated from Drexel's ACE BSN program in 2015 and during that program I did take an introductory research course.  I will admit that I am slightly intimidated about taking this research course because I feel it is sometimes challenging for me to interpret research results and don't feel I have a strong knowledge base for research/statistics. I hope to be more confident in my skills to interpret and write research after taking this class.   I included a picture of my husband and I with our dog Winnie.  Nice to meet everyone!

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Hello Everyone! My name is Shannon Combee I am entering my second quarter of Drexel's MSN program on the Clinical Nurse Leader Track.  I currently work as the acting Clinical Nurse Leader at a Veteran's Affairs Hospital in the ED. My nursing experience thus far has included pediatric inpatient and ED nursing and now adult ED nursing. I currently live in Norfolk Virginia with my husband and dog.  I graduated from Drexel's ACE BSN program in 2015 and during that program I did take an introductory research course.  I will admit that I am slightly intimidated about taking this research course because I feel it is sometimes challenging for me to interpret research results and don't feel I have a strong knowledge base for research/statistics. I hope to be more confident in my skills to interpret and write research after taking this class.   I included a picture of my husband and I with our dog Winnie.  Nice to meet everyone!

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My name is Sonia Kagna and I am entering my 3rd Quarter of a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Program. I was born in Ukraine and now live in Ellicott City, Maryland (between Baltimore and Washington, D.C.) with my husband, two beautiful children and a 19 y/o wise and grumpy cat.
My experience with research is somewhat skewed. I used to work as a research coordinator for medical school at two universities, but my experience is limited in doing regulatory compliance, qualitative research using NVivo software, recruitment of research participants, and administering questionnaires. I also developed a repository of health questionnaires. I have never done quantitative analysis and don't have a good grasp and understanding of quantitative research methods which is one of my concerns about the course and something I want to learn and comprehend. My main concern is to be able to keep up with the assignments because I work full time and my children (5 and 7 y/o) demand a lot of my time.
In my spare time and while driving and cleaning the house I love to listen to fantasy and science fiction audiobooks and I also love going to theater and museums (now with my children). On the picture you see us at Baltimore Museum of Art interactive exhibit.

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My name is Jestina Wolff. I am currently located in Media, PA, and work at a large teaching hospital in Philadelphia as an RN in Interventional Radiology. I am entering my 3rd quarter here at Drexel in the MSN in Nursing Education program. While I was certainly apprehensive in starting the MSN journey, the requisite research courses have been on my radar from day 1. I do remember taking a research course in my undergraduate studies, but have retained embarrassingly little.  My main concerns with these courses revolve around being able to digest and understand the information presented at a passing level.  While I have read many research articles in the past two semesters, the statistical aspects of these works were admittedly over my head.  My hope is that I walk away from this course with the ability to comprehend the meaning of presented statistical data and utilize it in a meaningful way.  Shall I dare to dream of conducting my own nursing research projects?Outside of work and school, I am raising two beautiful toddlers, ages 1 and 3, with my hardworking husband, who is committed to making my professional goals a reality.  Good luck to everyone this quarter!

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Hello!!  My name is Anika Bass and I am located in King of Prussia, PA. I am in the Women’s Health track and have completed prior research courses in my undergraduate program at Purdue University and with my BSN at Loyola University- Chicago. The main concerns I have with this course is keeping on track with readings and article reviews. Outside of my concerns, I hope to apply the learned concepts from this course to further my skillset in identifying and applying various forms of research/analysis in clinical research. Although love my patients and currently work as a fertility coordinator, the job I most enjoyed was conducting clinical research in GYN oncology at a cancer center and hope to contribute to research in the future. My husband and I recently celebrated our 3rd year of marriage on Sunday, here is a picture from our wedding day. Nice to meet everyone!

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Hello!!  My name is Anika Bass and I am located in King of Prussia, PA. I am in the Women’s Health track and have completed prior research courses in my undergraduate program at Purdue University and with my BSN at Loyola University- Chicago. The main concerns I have with this course is keeping on track with readings and article reviews. Outside of my concerns, I hope to apply the learned concepts from this course to further my skillset in identifying and applying various forms of research/analysis in clinical research. Although love my patients and currently work as a fertility coordinator, the job I most enjoyed was conducting clinical research in GYN oncology at a cancer center and hope to contribute to research in the future. My husband and I recently celebrated our 3rd year of marriage on Sunday, here is a picture from our wedding day. Nice to meet everyone!

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Hi everyone! My name is Courtney Egan and I am in the CRNA program. I am currently 15 months in and will be graduating next May 2020. I am from CT and enjoying being outdoors, whether its skiing or at the beach. I have my undergrad from UCONN and worked in the SICU at Yale New Haven hospital before moving down here for School. I enjoy traveling and lived In Puerto Rico for 5 months as a student. My next trip being planned is Southeast Asia after graduation!

I have taken a research class before in my undergrad. I actually took it in Dublin, Ireland where I studied abroad and completed the class. For that research class, I focused on PANDAS in children. For this class, I hope to dive into the psychosocial and neurological tendencies surrounding the opioid epidemic.  My biggest concern with this class is balancing this class with my clinical schedule.

Here is a picture of my clinical site friends and I. This is from one year ago. I am in the back second from the left. We have come so far!

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Hello everyone! My name is Jessica Savage and I’m located in Delaware where I live with my husband and our English bulldog Zulu. 

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Hello everyone! My name is Jessica Savage and I’m located in Delaware where I live with my husband and our English bulldog Zulu. 

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I’ve spent my whole nursing career in critical care, primarily in the emergency department; however, I’ve switched things up a bit and am currently enrolled in the PMHNP. I think a lot of people would be surprised how much overlap there really is with psych in the emergency setting.

I’ve never taken a research course before; as such, I’m admittedly pretty intimidated. My trepidation revolves around learning the language and everything statistics! I’m hoping this course will help make me more comfortable analyzing and conducting research.

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My name is Gina Toomey and I am currently enrolled in the Women's Health/Gender Related Nurse Practitioner program. I currently live in Pottsville, Pennsylvania and work in Allentown, Pennsylvania on a postpartum, mother-baby floor. I have taken one research course during my time in nursing school and hope to build on my current knowledge in research. I do not have a great deal of experience in research classes but am Iooking forward to learning more. I hope to expand my skills in analyzing research and applying it to my current field of practice. During my free time, I enjoy working out, spending time with my family and boyfriend, and hiking with my dog. I have just purchased a house so I have been spending a lot of time shopping and decorating! Below is a picture of my dog and I! I look forward to working with everyone!

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My name is Grace Kim. I am 26 years old and I currently live in Germantown, MD. I received my bachelors in nursing from The Catholic University of American in Washington, DC and right now I work as a Postpartum/Mother-Baby nurse at Inova Fairfax Hospital in Fairfax, VA. I am enrolled in the Women's Health/Gender Related NP program. I am the oldest of 3 girls. My younger sister is a medical student at VCU and my youngest sister is just finishing up her undergrad studies at Franciscan University of Steubenville Ohio.
I do have some experience in a research course from my undergraduate studies but I am going to have to admit that research is not my forte. I am a little apprehensive about this course but I am looking forward to learning a lot and applying it to my career. Here is a picture of me (in the middle wearing the coral maxi dress) and my family during our family portraits for my parent's 25th wedding anniversary.

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My name is Katie Gavern. I am 27, currently living in Philadelphia, PA (Fishtown).  I am from Milford, Massachusetts.  I received my undergrad from University of Scranton and now work on a tele/stroke floor at Lankenau Medical Center in Wynnewood, PA.  I did take a research course during my undergrad, but this will be my first masters-level research course.  I am currently enrolled in Drexel’s Women’s Health/Gender Related NP program.  I am intimidated by making my own charts and tables that utilize my own data, as doing so is very foreign to me.  I hope to become more comfortable with that process, as well as expand my knowledge of effective methods of gathering data.  I think I would also like to strengthen my ability to search for specific references, utilizing the numerous tools available to carry out advanced searches.  I think this course will allow me to see how valuable the library truly is.  Hopefully, this course allows my interest in research to grow and I look forward to learning all that I can in the next 10 weeks! Below is a picture of my siblings and I (far right) from my sister's wedding!

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Hi everyone! My name is Leanne Bailey and I am from Philadelphia. I am in the Nursing Education track and just started my program in January.  Currently, I work at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia on the Complex Care Service.  I have taken a Research class previously in my Undergraduate courses.  Also, starting at CHOP you are required to do a research project for your Nurse Residency and are given an additional crash course in Research.  I hope to further expand what I have already learn within the Research field with this class and improve my research skills in my daily practice.

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Hi everyone! My name is Leanne Bailey and I am from Philadelphia. I am in the Nursing Education track and just started my program in January.  Currently, I work at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia on the Complex Care Service.  I have taken a Research class previously in my Undergraduate courses.  Also, starting at CHOP you are required to do a research project for your Nurse Residency and are given an additional crash course in Research.  I hope to further expand what I have already learn within the Research field with this class and improve my research skills in my daily practice.

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Hello Everyone.  My name is Mignon Early (pronounced just like the steak).  I am originally from Baton Rouge, La and live in Greenville, South Carolina.  I have lived here for the past 25 years and raised two children with my husband of 34 years.  I am pursuing the Quality, Patient Safety and Risk Management MSN track.  My pursuit of this degree is personal goal as I have supported two children through college and graduate school.  Soon both will be married as my son is getting married in June two weeks after the completion of this quarter. I hope to retire within the next 10 years to mentor and consult younger nurse leaders leveraging my industry experience.  I currently lead a clinical quality department for a large dialysis provider with a team of 95 nurses across the US; many of who are master’s prepared.

I have never taken a research course and feel a little intimidated especially when you add the biostatistics portion. I have not been in school in more than 30 years until this past fall when I entered this program.  Quite frankly enrolling in graduate school has been intimidating but it seems that each quarter I learn more and figure out how to excel.

My exposure to research has been focused on understanding literature generally provided my company’s medical office on evidence for changes in treatments and therapies.  I am quite nervous about this course, but at the same time am looking forward to understanding this area as I believe the future of the profession lies within evidenced based practice and understanding research will be key to that.  My biggest concern is understanding the material and managing the volume of assignments and tasks that are required for success.

The pic is me and my husband.  We are true empty nesters!

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Hi everyone! I am Jacqueline Elma. I am in the Health System Management program. This is my 3rd quarter. I am from the Philippines, but I am now in Philadelphia. I have taken research course back in college (Philippines), but I agree with my other classmates that it is incomparable. 

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Hi everyone! I am Jacqueline Elma. I am in the Health System Management program. This is my 3rd quarter. I am from the Philippines, but I am now in Philadelphia. I have taken research course back in college (Philippines), but I agree with my other classmates that it is incomparable. 

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I hope to learn about the process of research and its analysis.
I am an operating room nurse. I am married and a mother of 2 girls, a 4 year old and a 12 year old. During spare time (especially not on call) I love spending time with my family. We love to do things together (bake, read, watch movies). I look forward to learning with you!

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Hi everyone!  My name is Darlene Fountain.  I am in the Clinical Research MSN program.  I am about 25% through the program, and have found it challenging but have learned alot.  

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Hi everyone!  My name is Darlene Fountain.  I am in the Clinical Research MSN program.  I am about 25% through the program, and have found it challenging but have learned alot.  

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I was born in NJ and lived most of my life in NY.  About 8 years ago I took a position as a project manager for an academic medicine institution in Nashville TN.  This position was not supposed to be permanent but here I am 8 years later!
I took a research course back in my undergrad years, but most of my research knowledge has been learned "hands on" .
I am most anxious about the statistics part of the course.  While I get the basic idea of p values and power, I know there is ALOT I need to learn.
I hope to learn how to better analyze research results and want to better understand the statistical methods part of the protocols I read.
I have two grown daughters, both of whom have followed my husband and I to Nashville. One is a travel agent and the other is a nurse. I work full time as a clinical research nurse specialist in pediatric cardiology. In my spare time I train, ride and care for my horse Hallie. I look forward to working with all of you!

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My name is Mary Eisenberg and I'm in the MSN in Nursing Education track. I live in Philadelphia and work full time as an Interventional Radiology RN at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. I worked at Hahnemann University Hospital in both med-surg and the ED before coming to HUP about two years ago.

I haven't taken a research course since graduating from Temple University with my BSN five years ago, so I'm looking forward to learning more over the next few months! Statistics was not my strongest subject, so I'm definitely anxious about that part of the course, but I'm glad to see that there are so many resources available through Blackboard and online. I plan to eventually get my doctorate, and I hope that this class will provide additional insight as to whether I'd like to focus primarily on research or education in the future.

In my free time I enjoy yoga, weightlifting, and traveling as much as possible! I've included a photo of myself and my boyfriend (Quinn) from a recent trip to Portugal.

I hope everyone has a great quarter!

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Hello Everyone! My name is Raechel Alexander. I am from Philly and still live in Philly. I am on course for my MSN Education with Drexel. Completing this course will make me ⅓ complete of my program. I am looking forward to checking this course off my list :) I have reservations about research and biostatistics from undergrad studies but I will/ WE will persevere! I love to travel, meet new people, and learn about different cultures. I also love to sit in the house with my two cats, Rick and James (pun intended). I am looking forward working with everyone now and possibly in the future.

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Hello Everyone! My name is Raechel Alexander. I am from Philly and still live in Philly. I am on course for my MSN Education with Drexel. Completing this course will make me ⅓ complete of my program. I am looking forward to checking this course off my list :) I have reservations about research and biostatistics from undergrad studies but I will/ WE will persevere! I love to travel, meet new people, and learn about different cultures. I also love to sit in the house with my two cats, Rick and James (pun intended). I am looking forward working with everyone now and possibly in the future.

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This is Rick, my social butterfly

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Hi classmates!  I am Lauren Williams. I am currently in the Health Leadership MSN track.  I am always half way through my program!

1) Where you are geographically located?
I was born and raised in Philadelphia.  I completed my undergrad at Drexel as well.  My husband and I lived in Portland Oregon and San Francisco for the past 5 years.  I recently returned to Philadelphia this past fall.

2) Have you ever taken a research course previously?
I took a research course during my undergrad but as our fellow class mate Rita said, I have a feeling that it will not compare.

3) What are your concerns, if any, about taking this course?
I have to say I am quite anxious about starting this class.  The realm of research feels very intimidating and daunting.  As professor Ward has mentioned, the language is quite different than the clinical language we use in most of our jobs on a daily basis.  I think that will be a huge challenge to grasp in 10 weeks.

4) What you hope to learn
I hope to feel like I have a grasp on the different research methods, understanding a research paper and adequately assessing it's validity.

5) Anything else you would like to share about yourself (optional)
I am a mother of a 1.5 year old and working full time in Global Medicine!

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Introduction-Meg McLaughlin  Hello everyone!  My name is Megan McLaughlin, I am from Bucks County, Pennsylvania, but currently live in central Virginia.  During this course, we will be relocating closer to home to Cape May, New Jersey and I can not wait!  This is my first graduate level research course, so I have some trepidation.  The word statistics makes me nervous!  I am really looking forward to having a better understanding of how research is conducted and increasing my knowledge of research methodology.  I have certifications in emergency nursing and heart failure and will be going back to my roots in the ED as a clinical supervisor when I return home!  Our family loves Disney World and outdoor activities.  We recently got our youngest child into kayaking and and can't wait to get out onto the water!  I am looking forward to working with everyone!

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Introduction-Meg McLaughlin  Hello everyone!  My name is Megan McLaughlin, I am from Bucks County, Pennsylvania, but currently live in central Virginia.  During this course, we will be relocating closer to home to Cape May, New Jersey and I can not wait!  This is my first graduate level research course, so I have some trepidation.  The word statistics makes me nervous!  I am really looking forward to having a better understanding of how research is conducted and increasing my knowledge of research methodology.  I have certifications in emergency nursing and heart failure and will be going back to my roots in the ED as a clinical supervisor when I return home!  Our family loves Disney World and outdoor activities.  We recently got our youngest child into kayaking and and can't wait to get out onto the water!  I am looking forward to working with everyone!

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Hi everyone! My name is Emily Anderson and I currently reside in Hillsborough, New Jersey which is just twenty minutes from Princeton. I have taken one research course in my undergraduate program at Rutgers University.  That being said, this course will be challenging as I do not entirely recall all that I have learned from taking that course five years ago, but I am interested in expanding my knowledge of research methods.  I currently work as a postpartum and newborn nursery nurse at Capital Health in Hopewell, NJ.  I have a one-year old mini Goldendoodle named Kona, who I love taking for walks and hikes! I also enjoy barre classes, reading, and going to the beach. I look forward to working with you all!

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Hello Professor Ward and Classmates. My name is Andy Onyekaba, I am originally from New York City but currently reside in Philadelphia PA. This is my first graduate research course, and I am excited to get started. My main concern is the difficult portion of conducting research, being that my last research course was an undergraduate level that I took a long time ago. I hope to better understand how to effectively analyze a research article. My personal hobbies include hiking, weightlifting, and playing football. Attached is one of my favorite picture of my puppy Dexter, he is an American Akita.

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Welcome to RSCH 503 Research Methods and Biostatistics

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Welcome to RSCH 503 Research Methods and Biostatistics

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My name is Frances Ward and I am very pleased to be working with you this quarter! Since you know my professional background from my initial Announcement, I wish to tell you a little bit about me personally.  I have three children and four step-children and a wonderful Belgian malinois dog named Zero.  When I am not working with you on our course, I may be walking on state forest trails with Zero, reading, knitting, or enjoying my family.  I really do love research and I enjoy communicating with you - so please do communicate with me throughout our course.  Enjoy your introductory course in research methods and biostatistics!  Frances Ward

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Hello Professor Ward and Classmates! My name is Rita and I am excited about taking this class and learning everything that I can about research. This is my third quarter and I must admit, that each one seems to get progressively harder (as expected). So here we go off to prayerfully another wonderful quarter at Drexel!! I can't wait to interact with you all!

1) Where you are geographically located?
Could you guess? The "old line state", crabs, "the shore", "fear the turtle"

2) Have you ever taken a research course previously?
I have taken a research course in undergrad; however, something tells me that, that class will be of no comparison to this one.

3) What are your concerns, if any, about taking this course?
Statistical Analysis! Anything with the word "stats" in it makes me feel nauseous and lightheaded. I know this will be a challenge but I remain hopeful that I will have a clear understanding of this.

4) What you hope to learn:
I would like to have a better understanding of nursing research as a whole. The entire topic/concept/practice seems foreign to me  and I would love to be more knowledgeable about it.

5) Anything else you would like to share about yourself (optional).
I am a history buff and a lover of nature. I love to walk on trails and visit historical sites ! Plantations are my favorite to visit due to the  historical significance of the struggle of the people who cultivated the land and that maintained the economy of that time.