Community

In its 2025 Best Nursing Programs survey, U.S. News & World Report ranked the Connell School鈥檚 doctor of nursing practice 14th out of 158 and the master鈥檚 degree 26th out of 146 schools.

Nancy Gaden, M.S. 鈥87, received the Dean Rita P. Kelleher Award for alumni achievement at CSON鈥檚 Pinning Ceremony in May. Gaden is senior vice president and chief nursing officer at md传媒国产剧 Medical Center.



Pinnacle lecture

Patricia Dykes

The spring Pinnacle lecture featured nurse scientist Patricia Dykes and a discussion of nursing involvement in the development of AI for health care, and how health informatics is changing the field. Dykes is a Harvard Medical School professor and research program director in the Brigham and Women鈥檚 Hospital Center for Patient Safety Research and Practice. She was the听Dr. Maureen P. McCausland Pinnacle Keynote Speaker.

View video


Alumni and students

Gaelyn Grant to the right of her poster presentation at the National Nursing Ethics Conference

Gaelyn Grant 鈥27, a Connell School undergraduate research fellow working with Associate Professor of the Practice Aimee Milliken, presented a poster and a presentation at the National Nursing Ethics Conference in Los Angeles in March.

Read more about nursing ethics at the Connell School

Cheryl Slater

Cheryl Slater, D.N.P. 鈥26, was awarded a first-place research prize for her poster 鈥淚mprovement of Nurses and Neonatologists鈥 Knowledge and Expertise of the Neonatal Withdrawal Assessment Scale (NWAS) Tool鈥 at the Eastern Nursing Research Society conference in Philadelphia. Her faculty mentor was Assistant Professor of the Practice Catherine Conahan.

Chizoba Nwosu

Chizoba Nwosu 鈥05 received an Excellence Award at the New England Regional Black Nurses Association鈥檚 February award ceremony. Nwosu is associate chief nurse of Academic Affiliations, Operations, and NP Residencies at VA md传媒国产剧 Healthcare System.

Lyann Tam

Lyann Tam 鈥25 was part of the BC Schiller Institute for Integrated Science and Society鈥檚 delegation to COP29, the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, in November 2024.



Faculty


Publications and presentations

CSON faculty and their teams were prolific in their scholarly work, including:

Publications

  • 听Family caregivers with depression and anxiety may be more vulnerable to sustained lower sleep efficiency, by听听Assistant Professor Soojung Ahn

  • 听How diversion programs can stop a mental health crisis from becoming an emergency, by听Victor Petreca, assistant professor and the director of CSON鈥檚 state-funded Center for Police Training in Crisis Intervention听

  • 听Role-playing simulation helps pediatric nurse practitioners build genomic competency, by Associate Professor of the Practice Laura White, Assistant Professor Brittney van de Water, and Associate Professor Andrew Dwyer听

Presentations

  • Pilot study looks at how to manage patients with palliative care needs and substance use disorder, by听Assistant Professor of the Practice Sarah Given听

  • Personalized approach helps assisted living staff improve quality of life for older adults with cognitive impairment, with Associate Professor of the Practice Beth McNutt-Clarke, who served as the faculty mentor for a quality improvement project team, comprising Molly Abate, D.N.P. 鈥26, Courtney Mulvaney 鈥19, D.N.P. 鈥25, and Nadia Polad, M.Ed. 鈥06, D.N.P. 鈥25

  • Public health and peace work as a primary prevention to war, by听Shelley K. White, associate professor of the practice and director of experiential learning