Nursing insider INTERVIEWS

Barbara Demman is a board-certified acute care nurse practitioner and clinical nurse specialist with twenty-three years of clinical experience. She has a passion for global health and implemented the first-ever nursing certification program in Ghana. She also has a passion for reducing burnout syndrome among nurses and created a six-week course with her husband called S.H.A.R.P.- Stress in Healthcare: Awareness, Reduction, and Prevention.

Outside of the hospital, Demman enjoys being with her friends and family, tap dancing, and traveling. Her latest hobby has been chasing her daughter around the house, trying to keep the destruction and chaos at a minimum.

Kristen Choi is an Assistant Professor at the UCLA School of Nursing and UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. She studies mental health services for children and adults, practices as a psychiatric Registered Nurse (RN), and teaches in the MECN program.

Miki Rai is a Registered Nurse (RN) who found fame with her viral TikTok and Instagram dance videos, which aim to educate young audiences in health and wellness concerns.

Her Youtube channel has since become a destination for medical Q&A’s, fashion and beauty favorites, nursing school tips, and daily vlogs with her boyfriend Kevin, who also works in the medical field as a doctor. She graduated from UCLA’s School of Nursing in 2018 and currently lives in Seattle.

Barbara Bates-Jensen is Professor of Nursing and Medicine at UCLA. Her research is focused on improving pressure injury and wound care and applying practice in nursing homes and other health care settings. She is the developer of the Bates-Jensen Wound Assessment Tool (BWAT), which is used worldwide and has been incorporated into a variety of EMR systems. She volunteered in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake and was the President and founder for 10 years of the Wound Reach Foundation, a non-profit charity that worked to improve wound care globally. She is the co-editor of the book, “Wound Care: A Collaborative Practice Manual for Health Care Professionals” and this year, is a 2021 recipient of the National Pressure Injury Advisory Panel’s Kosiak.

Dr. Linda Sarna, Dean and Distinguished Professor, Lulu Wolf Hassenplug Chair, UCLA School of Nursing, is internationally recognized for her scholarly activities promoting nursing involvement in tobacco control. As the Principal Investigator for the Tobacco Free Nurses, she initiated the first national program to help nurses quit smoking in the U.S. and to promote the role of nurses in tobacco control. She has led translational research projects to treat tobacco dependence among hospitalized patients in the U.S., China, and Eastern Europe and led the implementation of a tobacco-free policy at UCLA as Chair of the Academic Senate. Dr. Sarna’s honors and awards include election as a fellow to the American Academy of Nursing, recognition as a Distinguished Research Professor and Lifetime Achievement Award from the Oncology Nursing Society, and induction into the International Nurse Research Hall of Fame, Sigma Theta Tau International. She has served as the 7th Dean of the School of Nursing since 2014.