By Kathryn Mulligan
On Monday, October 18th, the College of Nursing sponsored the Research and Evidence-based Practice Conference. Nursing students were able to gather together and learn from each other about relevant and vital topics to nursing such as sexual assault, mental health, cultural diversity among patients, and immunizations. Additionally, there were presentations on two equally important topics that often don’t get enough attention: acne and e-cigarettes.
Mike McNeil, a graduate student at the College of Nursing, presented his research titled “First-Line Acne Treatment: What’s Effective and What’s Cost-Effective?” alongside Dr. Beth Luthy and Dr. Janelle MacIntosh. “Acne is something that a lot of people deal with, myself included, and the many different treatment options can seem overwhelming,” Mike explains. “My scholarly paper focused on which topical medications are most effective for acne and which are the most cost-effective. In summary, there are several effective and affordable options that you can find in your local drugstore, or by prescription from a treating healthcare provider.”
Another presentation given was titled “The Adolescent E-Cigarette Epidemic: What You Can Do About It.” Ann Peterson, a student at the College of Nursing, worked on the research as well as fellow students Morgan Utley and Haokun Yang as well as Professor Brandon Thatcher and Dr. Katreena Merrill. “I hope our research on adolescents and e-cigarettes contributes to the world of nursing by raising awareness that e-cigarettes are not safe for youth,” Ann says. “Research clearly proves the physical and mental health deficits of e-cigarettes, but also shines light on what nurses can do to intervene. I hope nurses implement the research into their practice to help adolescents make educated decisions regarding the use of e-cigarettes and their health.”
If you’re interested in learning more about the research projects that were presented at the conference, go view the first set of highlights at https://byunursing.wordpress.com/2021/10/19/research-conference-highlights/ .
BYU College of Nursing 