When death knocks: Study explores life’s spookiest question

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Death, terror and anxiety might sound like ingredients for the perfect Halloween haunted house, but they are also the focus of a serious…

A man walks toward the light at the end of the tunnel.

Older surgery patients report less pain, and why that’s dangerous

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A new study raises questions about how to manage pain after surgery, especially for older adults. Researchers found that patients 65 and…

A nurse cares for a patient, who is laying in a hospital bed.

UF College of Nursing draws record incoming class

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — When University of Florida classes start Aug. 21, 85 new Bachelor of Science in Nursing students — 60% more than last year — will take…

A UF nursing student works to change state’s end-of-life care rules

Advocating for those in need and working to transform how Florida addresses end-of-life care have become passions for Meredith Fischer, a University of Florida…

Meredith Fischer (left) Dr. Leonard Hock (center) and Hattie Bryant (right).

UF Nursing secures $3 million to expand Florida’s nurse workforce

GAINESVILLE — The University of Florida College of Nursing will receive $3 million to help address the state’s nursing shortage. These funds — $1.5 million…

Three UF College of Nursing students care for a bedside patient.

Is Gratitude Good Medicine for Body and Soul?

In the 1970s, a black-and-white poster of a kitten dangling from a bamboo stick swept the nation with its simple yet inspirational message of “Hang in there,…

Making scents: Aromatherapy lowers anxiety in preoperative patients

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — You’re waiting to have surgery, and your nerves are jangling. But what if, instead of hospital antiseptic, you instead smelled lavender? Or…

UF College of Nursing student research project nets human trafficking arrests

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Katelyn Watts never thought that in just three months her graduate student project would rescue several human trafficking victims, capture…

Woman faces toward a chain-link fence and reaches her open palm toward it.

Gator Nurse mom to honor daughter during nursing pinning ceremony

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — On Aug. 9, Anastasia Albanese-O'Neill, B.S.N., M.S.N., Ph.D., a three-time UF Gator Nurse graduate, got the rare honor of pinning her…

Cassidy O’Neill, left, and her mother, Anastasia Albanese-O’Neill, stand next to the bust of Dorothy M. Smith, the UF College of Nursing’s founding dean. Cassidy will graduate on Aug. 9 from the college and her mother, also a Gator Nurse graduate, will award Cassidy the nurse’s traditional pin.

UF nurses globally recognized for lifesaving wound care strategies

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — In 2020, UF Health Shands Hospital nurses Cindy Westbrook and Randy Brian used their wound care skills to help keep oxygen-rich blood…

Randy Brian, left, Sandra Citty and Cindy Westbrook look over wound care products at UF Health Shands Hospital recently. The three were part of a research project funded by UF Health and the UF College of Nursing to study wound care treatments for ECMO sites that have saved lives. (Photo by Carlos Medina)

State scholarship program to benefit 40 University of Florida nursing students

New state funding will make 40 scholarships available to University of Florida students entering the UF College of Nursing’s Accelerated Bachelor of Science in…

Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing students work on a simulation mannequin during a clinical lab. File Photo

UF study shows Summer Health Professions Education Program a significant student motivator

Alessio Barca felt like an imposter as a freshman at the University of Florida. After emigrating from Paraguay at 11 and being the first in his family to…

A student works on a patient mannequin as part of the 2023 UF Summer Health Professions Education Program.

Stories by Carlos