Nursing Instructor, Kendra Rieger RN BN PhD(c), has been named the 2016 recipient of the Canadian Association for Nursing Research (CANR) Rising Star Graduate Student Award! The award is presented to both an outstanding Masters and outstanding Doctoral nursing students. Kendra will receive the award for her doctoral work at the University of Manitoba in recognition of her research excellence. Presented biennially, Kendra will officially receive her award on May 2nd 2016 at the College of Nursing Researcher in Residence Event.

The Nursing department would like to recognize Kendra not only for this award but for her immense commitment to research. Kendra is currently working on her PhD in Nursing at the College of Nursing at the University of Manitoba. She is part of the first cohort of Nursing PhD students in the province of Manitoba. Kendra’s devotion to research is evident in her scholarly activities. As primary author or co-author, she has nine accepted, in press, or published publications and two additional publications currently under review. While all her publications are important to her, two pivotal publications are “Arts-based learning: An analysis of the concept for nursing education” published in the International Journal of Nursing Education Scholarship (see full reference below) and “The effectiveness and experience of arts-based pedagogy among undergraduate nursing students: A mixed methods systematic review,” which is currently under review (see full reference below). This work is pivotal to Kendra because it is a core part of her doctoral thesis and she hopes to build on it as she continues to research arts and health. She hopes to develop a program of research about arts and health initiatives including but not limited to creative approaches to teaching and learning. Kendra is also very interested in systematic reviews and hopes to continue to develop her expertise in this methodology.

Kendra began her love for research as a young child as she always wanted to be a scientist. As she continued her education and practice as a nurse, she fell in love with research, realizing that she likes to “think this way.” Her devotion to research is not only based on a personal love for it but also a genuine belief in its importance to nursing care and education. She is a firm believer in evidence informed practice, which integrates the best research evidence with patient preferences, clinical context, and the nurse expertise in that particular setting to give the best patient care possible.

Kendra hopes that nurses and nursing students will see the practical applications of research and writing. She contends that writing is an important part of scholarship in Nursing. To students who may not see its relevance, she says “Don’t underestimate the importance of communicating research in writing.” She also understands that writing does not come easily to everyone. Kendra says, “I struggled with self-confidence in writing but I think you can learn to become a good writer with diligence and mentorship.” She strongly emphasizes the mentorship aspect and has personally written with many of her professors, including her doctoral advisor, reiterating that “everyone time I write with someone, I learn from them.”

The CANR Rising Star Graduate Student Award is more than just recognition for all of Kendra’s hard work. She hopes it will help encourage other nurses and nursing students to get involved in research. Kendra also hopes it will bring awareness to the CANR as a great opportunity for nurses to connect with other researchers. As an associate member of the Canadian Nursing Association (CNA), the CANR is open to all nurses (for a small fee) and provides members with opportunities for funding, awards, and networking.

Kendra would like to thank the CANR and her advisor, Dr. Wanda Chernomas, for nominating her for this award.

On behalf of the Public Relations Committee and the Nursing Department, congratulations Kendra and thank you for your commitment to research!