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Dr. Katherine Kunnen

Associate Professor

Education

  • Doctor of Nursing Practice/Family Nurse Practitioner, University of Michigan-Flint; May 2016
  • Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Calvin College; May 2009
  • Faith Community Nurse and Faith Community Nurse Educator; June 2009

Specialty

  • Adult

Professional Experience

  • Assistant Professor, Calvin College; August 2016 - Present
  • Nursing Practitioner, Signify Health, Dallas, TX 2017 - 2019
  • Registered Nurse, Spectrum Health Blodgett, Grand Rapids, MI; December 2009 - 2016

Research

  • 2019 Principle investigator: “The perceived barriers and supports for minority students at a baccalaureate nursing program.” 
  • 2018 Principle investigator: “The effects of interprofessional collaboration and the use of theater students as simulation patients on the perceived self-efficacy, confidence, and satisfaction of the baccalaureate nursing student.” 
  • 2014 Principle investigator: “A collaborative initiative to establish postpartum depression screening in the pediatric office.” 

Grants

  • 2020 “Faith in the Vaccine Ambassadors” Interfaith Youth Core. Awarded $22,500  
  • 2019 “The Perceived Barriers and Supports for Minority Students at a Baccalaureate Nursing Program” Calvin Center for Christian Scholarship. Awarded $1,000 
  • 2017 Gold-AACN White Coat Ceremony for Nursing. Arnold P. Gold Foundation. Awarded $1,000 

Professional Services

  • Faculty Counselor, Sigma Theta Tau International - Kappa Epsilon Chapter at Large (May 2017 - May 2020)
  • Member of Disaster Assistance Response Team, Samaritan's Purse, Boone, NC 2016 - Present
  • Faith Community Nurse Educator (June 2009)

Professional Associations

  • International Nursing Association for Clinical Simulation and Learning
  • Faith Community Nursing International
  • Sigma Theta Tau International - Kappa Epsilon Chapter at Large (November 2008 - Present)

Research and Scholarship

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Nursing Department-8654

Inter-Professional Collaboration to Enhance Simulation

<p>Most simulation programs involve the use of medium to high-fidelity mannequins. However, limitations such as lack of realism and inability to provide opportunities for therapeutic communication have been identified with the use of high-fidelity simulation. Thus, there has been a recent innovative proposal to prepare theater students as standard patients for nursing simulations (Hart &amp; Chilcote, 2016).</p>
<p>The goal of this project is to determine the relationship of the use of theater students as simulation patients on the perceived self-efficacy and self-confidence of baccalaureate nursing students as well as their satisfaction of the simulation experience. Based on theater student availability, half of the nursing students acted as a control group and only interacted with the&nbsp;<span>mannequin</span>&nbsp;as they would normally. Students who did interact with a theater student were interviewed in focus groups and surveyed using two instruments developed by the National League of Nursing.</p>
<p>Survey results from the students who interacted with a theater student will be compared with the results from students who were not able to have that interaction. Additionally, the interviews from focus groups of students who were able to interact with a theater student will be transcribed and coded for themes.</p>
<h6>Researchers:</h6>
<p>Principle Investigator: Katherine Kunnen Co-Investigator: Dawn Frambes</p>
<h6>Current Research Assistant:</h6>
<p>Makalah Hartgerink</p>