Nursing Research Training in Symptom Management. The purpose of this application is to continue to provide funding for 6 predoctoral students and 4 postdoctoral trainees in symptom management. This proposal was expanded in the last competing renewal (years 5-10) to include an additional postdoctoral trainee, and to include clusters of symptoms, and genetic markers of the symptom experience in addition to the original fatigue, dyspnea, pain and insomnia symptoms from the original application (years 1-5). Objectives for this renewal (years 15-20) are to expand the training related to outcomes of symptom management, particularly in the area of economic cost of symptoms and their management. The objectives are to: 1) prepare trainees with knowledge and skills necessary to conduct research on symptom experience and health-related outcomes (including economic costs), 2) mentor trainees to develop and implement programs of research on these symptoms in diverse populations across the illness trajectory in a variety of health care settings, 3) prepare trainees with grantsmanship skills that include writing, conducting, and administering a funded grant, 4) increase numbers of ethnically diverse nurse scholars prepared to conduct research on symptoms, and 5) increase numbers of nurse scholars prepared to conduct interdisciplinary intervention research related to symptoms. Included in the training faculty are the Program Director and 3 Co-Directors who serve as the Advisory Board, a Health Care Economist, 8 additional Core Faculty, and five new mentored faculty scholars. The predoctoral curriculum includes doctoral program requirements and a 3-quarter seminar series (experience, management, outcomes);a 2-quarter Biomarkers series is highly recommended. Postdoctoral training is tailored to individual needs, with focus on complex issues and advanced methodologies. Postdoctoral trainees also attend the 3-quarter seminar series, but spend additional time in grant activities related to directing a research team and fiscal management. Residency experiences are tailored to individual goals and obtained throughout the training period. Preparing nurse scholars with advanced knowledge of theory and practice related to symptom management, with rigorous qualitative and quantitative research training, is essential to move knowledge forward in clinical and translational science with interdisciplinary research teams. The UCSF School of Nursing is in a unique position to provide this training because of our programs of research and collaborative experiences with other disciplines involved in symptom-related research.
A better understanding of symptom experience, and development of novel non- pharmacological ways to manage symptoms, is needed for symptoms associated with acute and chronic illness, during medical treatments and drug therapies. More trained nurse researchers are needed, with the ultimate goal of improving quality of life for millions of Americans who experience pain, dyspnea, fatigue, or insomnia, as well as associated psychological symptoms of anxiety or depression.
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