CU Nursing - Commencement December 2020 - 8

G R A D U AT I O N

C O N V O C AT I O N 2 0 2 0

Master's Student
Uses Front Line
Experience with
Coronavirus as Basis
for Capstone Project
WITH THE DISTINCT POSSIBILITY OF BEING UNABLE TO
COMPLETE HER MASTER'S PROGRAM, STEPHANIE LEE AND CU
NURSING FACULTY GET CREATIVE AND FOCUS ON RESILIENCE
By Dana Brandorff

n May and June I felt my whole world tumbling, " said
CU Nursing master's student and nurse manager
Stephanie Lee. An iLEAD (Innovation in Leadership
and Administration in Nursing Health Care Systems)
master's student, Lee was entering her final course in
the specialized track, when coronavirus hit. She didn't know
if she would be able to finish the program or not. Clinicals
were up in the air, and graduation did not look promising.
The hospital where she worked as a Clinical Nurse Manager,
based in Brooklyn, was ground zero for COVID-19, and like
many hospitals was overwhelmed by patients and struggling.
All " extra " initiatives, including affiliation agreements with
universities, were on hold. " That affected my ability to complete my capstone project and graduate, " said Lee.
CU Nursing's master's program encourages students to take
on real-world projects, and frequently those reside within the
student's work environments. " If the institution doesn't have the
bandwidth or won't allow the affiliation, the student is in a difficult position and must seek alternatives to complete their final
project, " said Assistant Dean of CU Nursing's Graduate Program
Peggy Jenkins, PhD, RN, CNE. Because of COVID-19, priorities
changed, and affiliation agreements were shelved. Jenkins and Lee
got to work creating a project that would fulfill Lee's requirements
and allow her to graduate this summer.

Clinical Nurse
and iLEAD
master's student
Stephanie Lee
on duty at her
hospital.

in light of COVID-19. Researching the phenomenon of
resilience became her passion and her capstone project.
" We took a personal perspective on my project. All of the
grad students in the program would be leaders one day
- going from the bedside to the boardroom. My research
looked at how to build resiliency in aspiring leaders. "

As Lee describes, " Dr. Jenkins was super creative...helping
find something that would work. She's literally been my
rock. And if it weren't for her, I wouldn't be graduating. "

While working in the emergency department (ED), she saw
how the staff adjusted and qualities that were necessary
to handle the crisis. " We did 19 intubations in a single
shift and had two refrigerated trucks filled with bodies
parked outside the ED, " said Lee. It was overwhelming and
terrifying. For Lee, qualities like optimism, a 'can do' attitude, internal resolve, a problem-solving mentality, and a
support system stood out. Lee learned that " coronavirus
brought out the best and worst in all of us. "

RESEARCHING RESILIENCE

CONSTANT CHANGES PROVED CHALLENGING

Since Lee was working in a hot zone for coronavirus at a hospital
that was treating thousands of patients, it seemed natural to focus
on a joint study about retention and stressors in graduate students

" My career in trauma, ICU, and ECMO - specializing in
acute respiratory distress - prepared me for this pandemic, " said Lee. However, coronavirus was different from

CU College of Nursing | December 2020

CU Nursing - Commencement December 2020

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