UMSON joins UMB in celebrating the graduation of its first cohort of CURE Scholars after seven years of nursing faculty and student involvement in mentoring and teaching the students.
For 20 students from three West Baltimore middle schools, hard work through nearly seven years of mentorship, Saturday tutoring sessions, and summer enrichment camps came to a rewarding end as the University of Maryland, Baltimore’s (UMB) Continuing Umbrella of Research Experiences (CURE) Scholars Program held its first graduation in May, recognizing members of Cohort 1 as they finished high school. They are the first of 115 scholars to enter the program, distributed over seven cohorts.
The National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) CURE program was established by the NCI’s Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities in 1997 to help support underrepresented students in biomedical research and career development. CURE utilizes a pipeline approach and provides career navigation, workforce training, and mentorship. In 2015, UMB was awarded a grant to launch its CURE Scholars program, which became the first in the nation to attract middle school students into NCI’s CURE pipeline.
In late summer 2016, Ann Marie Felauer, DNP ’18, CPNP-AC/PC, UMSON assistant professor and director, Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Pediatric Acute and Primary Care Nurse Practitioner specialties, saw an announcement in The Elm, UMB’s internal news website, seeking mentors to help middle school students with STEM-related work through the CURE Scholars Program. Recognizing that she has knowledge in science, technology, math, and child development through her work as a pediatric nurse practitioner, she decided to respond, especially, she says, because she is passionate about introducing students to the nursing profession.
Over time, Felauer increasingly dedicated her time to serving as a CURE Scholars mentor and started teaching anatomy classes to CURE Scholars in the UMB BioPark. She eventually assumed responsibility for the anatomy curriculum, expanded the chemistry curriculu, and assisted with robotics. In recognition of these efforts, Felauer was named the University’s 2022 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Diversity Recognition Award Outstanding Faculty Member for her dedication to the CURE Scholars Program. “CURE has become a passion of mine and is my ‘happy place,’” she says.
This past spring, Felauer had the opportunity to involve an RN-to-Bachelor of Science in Nursing student in the community/public health practicum course in the CURE Scholars work. “The student was able to work with the scholars during the programming, developing relationships as well as disseminating knowledge through discussion of her RN practice, presentations, and contributions to the dissection curriculum,” Felauer says, in which scholars dissect various animals to learn about human organ systems. Felauer says she plans to involve additional students in the semesters to come.
UMSON is also represented in the CURE Scholars program by other dedicated faculty members and students. Elsie Stines, DNP ’15, MS ’00, PNP-PC, serves as a preceptor for DNP pediatric nurse practitioner students at UMSON, is a CURE Scholars Core Team board member and has been involved in the program since its inception. Many nursing students work as volunteers and mentors for the CURE Scholars Program and encourage their peers to join them.
Now that Cohort 1 has completed the program, those involved can take time to evaluate what is working well and what is an opportunity for improvement. Boosting nursing within the program is important, especially for scholars who might show an early interest: “UMSON has the opportunity to get more involved with CURE,” Felauer says, “to help drive the curriculum and open doors for scholars who may not want to be medical doctors or scientists. We have the opportunity to show the scholars the value of nursing.”
If you are interested in learning more about becoming involved in the CURE Scholars Program, email umbcure@umaryland.edu.