The United States has celebrated those who have served in the military with various holidays including Memorial Day, Armistice Day (now called Veterans Day), Armed Forces Day, and Women Veterans Day. Veterans Day is a federal holiday to honor all military Veterans and is observed annually on November 11.  While it is important to honor and thank those Veterans for their service to our country, the quiet and unacknowledged group who often helps ensure those Veterans are supported back home are known as “military dependents.” These are the spouses, partners, children, and other family membe ..read more

Ladies, it’s that time of year again. Cooler weather, leaves changing, shorter days, and pumpkin everything. You guessed it! It’s October! And you know what that means…it’s time to consider getting that mammogram you have been dodging all year. But why do we only recognize breast cancer one month out of the entire year? Shouldn’t we think about this every month? Since 1985, October has been recognized as Breast Cancer Awareness month. This campaign began as a when the American Cancer Society and the Imperial Chemical Industries pharmaceutical division teamed up to educate women about breast ca ..read more

October 2-8 is National Midwifery Week, and it is even sweeter this year with the UAB School of Nursing celebrating the revival of our Nurse-Midwifery Pathway, the only nurse-midwifery program in Alabama. With six future nurse-midwives enrolled, our School is poised to raise the numbers of practicing certified nurse-midwives in the state from 21 to 27 in just under two years. Imagine the impact that can have for Alabamians.   While the popularity of nurse-midwives is just beginning to take-off in Alabama, midwifery is thriving nationally. There are approximately 13,000 practicing nurse-mi ..read more

Jennifer Frank, PhD, works on Special Projects for the Office of Research and Scholarship, and will be observing the high holidays with her son and his family. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the two holiest holidays in the Jewish calendar, take place in the fall. The exact dates are determined by the Hebrew calendar, and this year Rosh Hashanah (pronounced rash-huh-shaa-nuh) will be on Sept. 25-26 and Yom Kippur (yam-kuh-poor) will be on Oct. 4-5. Like all Jewish holidays, these are observed from sundown to sundown, and on these days, Jews refrain from work and many attend synagogue for extensi ..read more

Brenda Mayfield, MSN, CRNP, PMHNP-BC (MSN 2018) is an instructor of nursing and is co-director of the Birmingham Veterans Affair Health Care System/UAB School of Nursing Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Residency Program. Losing someone to suicide creates a tsunami of pain, guilt, shame, anger and confusion, and leaves a plethora of unanswered questions in its wake. Nearly 800,000 people worldwide die by suicide annually, and another 1.2 million attempt suicide. It’s one of the top five causes of death in the United States for ages 10-44 and ranks 12th among all-cause mortality. Recognizing wh ..read more

Elizabeth Hale is a student in the UAB School of Nursing’s Accelerated Masters in Nursing Pathway. She will graduate in December 2022. When I think of Labor Day, I remember how my family and I would take the weekend to celebrate at the lake with our days filled with sunshine, swimming and all the barbeque you could eat. Some years it would be to just simply rest and recharge.  As we approach the Labor Day holiday, I have thought about its origins and discussed it with a friend who studied history. She explained the motivation for Labor Day came from many American workers—primarily those w ..read more

Even though you can still fry an egg on the sidewalk thanks to the Alabama heat, summer vacation is coming to an end and school is starting back soon. Kids are really starting to the feel the heat (pun intended) as they rush to finish their required summer readings and workbooks. While summer work helps kids keep up with their academics, we must also be sure that their physical and mental health are well prepared for the journey of a new school year. As a pediatric nurse practitioner, researcher, and educator, I have seen the toll that poor physical and mental health can take on children and ..read more

On June 17, 2021, the United States of America recognized a new federal holiday with the signing of the “Juneteenth National Independence Day Act.”  This year, as we recognize Juneteenth, we also remember its history. Juneteenth, also known as Jubilee Day, Emancipation Day, Freedom Day and Black Independence Day, is tied to the history of those enslaved in Galveston, Texas — individuals who did not learn that they were emancipated in 1863 with President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. Instead, they learned two years later on June 19, 1865, when fede ..read more

On a cold day in March 1944, the Fergerson Family of Leeds, Alabama saw a car pull up in front of their home. Mr. Fergerson was working in the field and his wife was at the kitchen sink. As her daughter Doris Jean Fergerson Gaiter would later state, “I saw mama begin to shake.” It was a representative from the U.S. Navy. The Submarine the USS Scorpion had been lost in the East China Sea on or about February 1, 1944. There were no survivors. The Fergerson’s son, Nearest Ferguson (Steward, Third Class), was one of the causalities. This began the Fergerson/Gaiter yearly Memorial Day Remembrance ..read more

March and April come in a rush; with trees blossoming and the early flowers heralding the return of warmth and color. Spring also feels bittersweet as the environment awakens a world where unnecessary lives are lost each day as the opioid epidemic continues with its quiet erosion of life. The numbers of lives lost in the past year is staggering—more than 100,000 Americans lost to drug overdoses in 2021. However, many of those who lost their lives were not addicted to opioids. As we discuss the opioid crisis, it is important to understand the complexities of drug use and drug overdose. Thi ..read more