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One Puff Spurs Nursing Researcher’s Lifelong Career Investigating Tobacco and Mental Illness

University of Kentucky College of Nursing Assistant Professor Chizimuzo Okoli picked up his first and last cigarette when he was 6 years old. The mistake landed him in the emergency room. But the experience inspired his life’s work studying mental illness and substance use among marginalized and underrepresented populations. Many people living with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and other severe mental illnesses do not have access to tobacco treatments derived from evidence-based research.

Teach Teens That Driving is a Privilege, Not an Entitlement

In the formative years of adolescence, teens test their limits and push their boundaries, often with the expectation of emancipation through a driver’s license. Parents must provide a safe passage to adulthood while guarding teens against risky behaviors. But parents rarely pause to consider the risks associated with handing the car keys to an inexperienced adolescent driver.

Patient-Centered Care Helps Overcome Mental Illness and Tobacco Use

Dr. Zim Okoli is featured in the Lexington Herald-Leader and UKNOW discussing a central focus of his research on patients with mental illness and nicotine use. He highlights the need to have a patient-centered care approach. Read the full 2015 article, “Patient-Centered Care Helps Overcome Mental Illness and Tobacco Use."

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UK Nursing Student's Board Game Prompts Patients to Choose Heart-Healthy Foods

When University of Kentucky College of Nursing student Sooksai Kaewbua brings her heart-healthy board game to Eastern State Hospital, the first obstacle is getting patients to participate. Using the facility’s intercom, she and fellow nursing staff members in the geriatric unit recruit the first few players to get the game rolling.

Nursing Faculty Awarded National Grant for Substance Abuse Training

A University of Kentucky College of Nursing professor is equipping faculty members, primary care nurse practitioner students and primary care providers across Kentucky with the clinical skills to direct care when a patient presents signs of substance abuse.

Spike in Research Efforts Places UK College of Nursing Among National Leaders

When thinking about the University of Kentucky College of Nursing, do you think about it as one of the best nursing schools in the nation as ranked by U.S. News and World Report? Do you visualize classrooms of students preparing to go out into their communities to serve and meet the health care needs of their patients? If so, you would be right on both counts.

Scholarship Showcase 2004

First Student Scholarship Showcase spotlights undergraduate and graduate work.

Read the original news story here.