Niitsu Presented at a National Psychiatric Nursing Conference

Dr. Kosuke “Ko” Niitsu, Assistant Professor in the School of Nursing & Health Studies at the University of Washington Bothell (UW Bothell), attended the American Psychiatric Nurses Association (APNA) Annual Conference from October 4^th to 7^th, 2023, in Lake Buena Vista, FL. He spoke at a workshop titled, Writing Your Grant Specific Aims: A Convergence of Research and Scholarship, with psychiatric mental health nurse scientists from other universities (Photo 1 from left to right):

• Michaela K. Hogan, DNP, APRN, PMHNP-BC, CNE, Clinical Assistant Professor in the College of Nursing at the University of Florida
• Tracee Ridley-Pryor, DNP, APRN, PMHNP-BC, Assistant Professor in the College of Nursing at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center
• Jamie Zelazny, PhD, MPH, RN, Assistant Professor in the School of Nursing at the University of Pittsburgh
• Karen Jennings Mathis, PhD, APRN-CNP, PMHNP-BC, FAED, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior at the Brown University
• Brandy Mechling PhD, RN, PMHCNS-BC, Professor in the School of Nursing at the University of North Carolina Wilmington
• Andrea C. Bostrom, PhD, PMHCNS-BC, Professor Emeritus in the Kirkhof College of Nursing at the Grand Valley State University

They held an interactive workshop to discuss the Specific Aims page and components of the Specific Aims page and compare preliminary and final versions of a Specific Aims page. A variety of the audience, including PhD and DNP (Doctor of Nursing Practice) students and nursing faculties, joined the workshop.

Additionally, Niitsu presented a poster titled, College-high school Resilience, Outreach, and Well-being (CROW) Connecting Communities: A Pilot Project. Christina Lai, a recent graduate of the Health Studies at UW Bothell, Ryan Van Vuitton, a current student of the Health Studies at UW Bothell, and Niitsu created the poster together about the CROW project that they initiated and implemented. 

Furthermore, Sarah Kuramoto (Photo 2), a current student in the DNP program (Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner track) at the University of Washington Seattle (UW Seattle), received the APNA Board of Directors Student Scholarship 2023. Her scholarship was recognized at the Award Ceremony at the 2023 APNA annual conference that more than 2,000 psychiatric mental health nurses around the globe attended. 

“Attending a national conference provides you with such an excellent opportunity to meet like-minded individuals and extend your professional network”, Niitsu said. “It was such a great pleasure for me to report amazing things that we do at the University of Washington to the world, and I sent my warmest congratulations to Sarah who has a bright future ahead to make a positive impact to Washingtonians and beyond.”