JoAn Stanek receives AHEC Clinical Site Development Grant

A woman, JoAn Stanek, with long blonde hair smiles at the camera. She is wearing a bright blue blouse and is posed in front of a blurred indoor background with brick and window elements.

JoAn Stanek, DNP, RN, MSN, ANP, CHPN, along with Sharon Jackson, DNP, MSN, RN, PMH-BC, Susana Barroso, PhD, RN, and Sara Emory, has been awarded a $23,000 clinical site development grant through North Carolina Area Health Education Centers (NC AHEC).

This is a collaborative project between the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Nursing, the North Carolina Central University School of Nursing, and Central Regional Hospital, a state-owned rural psychiatric mental health facility.

The grant supports the North Carolina Institute of Medicine nursing workforce agenda and the mission of NC AHEC. The project involves creating a psychiatric mental health simulation curriculum for use by pre-licensure nursing students at a clinical site and during new hire orientation.

The curriculum is aimed at increasing empathy, understanding, and compassion toward people with mental health conditions. It is designed to strengthen the transition into practice for new graduate nurses entering the psychiatric mental health setting and support nurse retention by providing additional education through simulation.