麻豆原创 endowed professor in oncology nursing and cancer researcher Victoria Loerzel developed the education tool.

The trial, being conducted at the UF Health Cancer Center at Orlando Health, is studying patients 60 years or older who have received their first cancer diagnosis.聽 Over three months participants play a simulation 鈥榞ame鈥� that gives them options for dealing with chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting.

鈥淧articipants 鈥榩lay鈥� through a simulated experience with an avatar who has just finished their first chemotherapy treatment,鈥� said Loerzel, the principal investigator of the study.

Loerzel said older adults often have difficulty managing chemotherapy side effects at home placing them at greater risk for adverse effects such as dehydration, weight loss, low blood pressure and more.

The goal is to get patients and their caregivers to learn about effective post-chemotherapy care before they go home so they will be better equipped to deal with side effects and reduce the need for additional hospitalization when there is a problem.

The game gives the participant the opportunity to make choices for their avatar related to what they eat and drink and when they medicate for nausea and vomiting once the avatar goes home.

Those choices dictate whether or not the avatar experiences some level of nausea or vomiting within the game or whether they remain nausea free.

After the game is played the patient and their nurse discuss the outcome and whether different choices, such as taking medicine earlier or other food choices, would have had a different effect on the outcome.

Participants in the study must be patients at the UF Health Cancer Center at Orlando Health.聽 Study participants are compensated for their time with a gift card. Loerzel said the goal is to study 66 patients and so far she has 45.

Loerzel is an oncology certified nurse and has been practicing for more than 20 years. She has focused much of her research on improving symptom management and quality of life for older adults with cancer. She is working with John Clochesy from the College of Nursing at the University of South Florida and Patricia Geddie, who received her Ph.D. in 2015 from the 麻豆原创 College of Nursing of and is now working at the UF Health Cancer Center at Orlando Health. The project resulted from a National Institutes of Health grant Loerzel and her team received in 2015.

After receiving a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 2015, Victoria Loerzel and her dedicated team have worked to develop a game they hope will help patients take better care of themselves. Now ready for clinical trials, this interactive program will be piloted and tested at the UF Health Cancer Center at Orlando Health.

鈥淚t may sound simple, but a lot goes into decision-making for symptom self-management for older people,鈥� Loerzel said. 鈥淭hey often don鈥檛 think about how their actions impact their symptoms.鈥� Older adults are less likely to effectively manage chemotherapy side effects at home, placing them at greater risk for adverse events such as dehydration, weight loss, low blood pressure and more. This results in reduced daily function and an increased chance of an unplanned hospitalization.

An educational tool, Loerzel鈥檚 game was designed to help older adults improve cancer symptom management through better self-care decisions at home. By taking control of their symptom management at home, patients can reduce severe symptoms, unplanned hospital visits and, ultimately, improve quality of life.

The game will allow players to practice at-home symptom management with a character and real-life scenarios to visualize both good and bad outcomes based on their self-management choices. For example, if the character in the 鈥済ame鈥� is experiencing mild nausea from chemotherapy, the patient will have the option to choose how to manage it. They can decide to take medication, take a nap, watch TV and wait for it to pass, or do something else. Based on their answer, the nausea will either go away or get worse. After the 鈥済ame鈥� is played, the patient and their nurse will discuss the outcomes and decisions.

Once shown to be effective, Loerzel hopes this innovative educational tool will be widely used at the bedside to educate, improve symptom management at home and improve the quality of life for cancer patients struggling with symptom management.

Loerzel, who was recently appointed to an endowed professorship, is an oncology certified nurse and has been practicing for more than 20 years. She has focused much of her research on improving symptom management and quality of life for older adults with cancer. She is working with Dr. John Clochesy from the College of Nursing at the University of South Florida, Eileen Smith from at the , Dr. Patricia Geddie from the UF Health Cancer Center at Orlando Health, and 麻豆原创 professor Dr. Xin Yan.

An oncology certified nurse with more than 20 years of clinical experience, has been a member of the college faculty since 2005 and holds a clinical appointment as a clinical nurse research scientist at Orlando Health. She is the second scholar to be appointed to this endowed professorship. The Beat M. and Jill L. Kahli Endowed Professorship in Oncology Nursing was established in 2005 by Beat Kahli, president and CEO of Avalon Park Group.

鈥淰icki has a wealth of clinical knowledge in cancer care and actively contributes to the field with her innovative research,鈥� said Mary Lou Sole, dean of the 麻豆原创 College of Nursing. 鈥淪he is well-deserving of this honor, and will serve as a critical resource for the university and college to continue to develop a research program of excellence in oncology nursing.鈥�

Loerzel鈥檚 primary research interests focus on quality of life and symptom self-management in older adults with cancer. In fall 2015, she received a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to design, develop and test an interactive educational tool for older adults to improve cancer symptom management through better self-care decisions at home. Through improved symptom management at home, patients can reduce severe symptoms, reduce unplanned hospital visits and ultimately, improve quality of life.

鈥淚 am honored to be selected for this esteemed endowed professorship,鈥� said Loerzel. 鈥淭hrough the generosity of the Kahli鈥檚 gift, I will be able to expand my research and collaborate further with other clinicians, faculty, students and researchers in the field to improve the lives of people living with cancer.鈥�

Loerzel is a member of the Oncology Nursing Society and recipient of the society鈥檚 Commendation for Outstanding Achievement for Oncology Nursing Education or Patient/Family Education Award. She has also received numerous awards and honors for research and teaching at 麻豆原创, most recently receiving the Scholarship for Teaching and Learning Award. She received her PhD from 麻豆原创, her MSN from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, her BSN from Florida Atlantic University, and her BA from Rollins College.

With the recent appointment, the College of Nursing has a total of six 鈥� the most of any college at the university. Endowed chair positions are endowed in perpetuity, immortalizing excellence among faculty. 鈥淲e are thankful to the Kahlis and all of our other endowed professorship donors,鈥� said Katie Korkosz, director of development at the college. 鈥淭heir support allows us to attract, retain and honor our distinguished faculty who are conducting innovative research in their fields to improve nursing education and patient care.鈥�

Faculty support is a mission-critical priority in IGNITE: The Campaign for the 麻豆原创, the most ambitious fundraising campaign in the university鈥檚 history with a goal of $500 million.

In the Health Sciences I category, Chelsea Hughes won first place for her research, 鈥淒osing Accuracy While Administering Oral Medications,鈥� which focused on the major problem of inaccurate dosing of children鈥檚 liquid medication that causes adverse effects for children every year.

Second place was earned by Shannon Hassett for her research, 鈥淭echnologies to Enhance Optimal Glycemic Control in Young Adults with Type 1 Diabetes.鈥�

Her thesis was based on exploring how the use of technology like glucose monitors could lead to better control of Type 1 Diabetes in adults ages 18 to 30. This was a topic of personal interest for her since she was diagnosed with this condition at the young age of 11 and since then has struggled to manage it.

鈥淚 knew there was a difference between those who were able to stay on top of glycemic control, and those who were trying so desperately and just weren’t quite hitting their goals,鈥� said Hassett. 鈥淚t has been my mission to narrow down those differences and put into words what truly managing with optimal glycemic control looks like so others may have that example and have a better chance at battling diabetes.鈥�

Additionally, in the Health Sciences II category, Samantha Sermarini won first place for her research, 鈥淏lack Caregiver Responses to and Perceptions of Signs, Symptoms, and Treatments at the End of Life.鈥� The purpose of her thesis was to determine how black caregivers interpreted signs, symptoms, and treatments for symptom relief during the last months of their loved one鈥檚 life.

In second place was Stephanie Levine for her research, 鈥淢usic Therapy as an Intervention to Reduce Anxiety in Mechanically-Ventilated Patients.鈥�

鈥淢usic has certainly聽alleviated my anxiety in countless situations, so I wanted to closely examine any effects it might have on vulnerable patients in the ICU,鈥� said Levine. 鈥淚 think it is beneficial to analyze聽interventions that minimize discomfort and adverse side effects. In this scenario, music seemed like a good focus.鈥�

SURE is an annual poster forum for 麻豆原创 undergraduates to present their research and creative projects to the broader university community. Fourteen College of Nursing students participated this year, including four students from the 麻豆原创 Daytona Beach campus.

鈥淥ur students across all campuses make us very proud and have earned top awards at SURE for the past several years,鈥� says Victoria Loerzel, associate professor and coordinator of the Honors in the Major program at the College of Nursing. 鈥淭hey put so much time, effort and enthusiasm into their projects. It is wonderful to see their hard work rewarded with these scholarships.鈥�

With the grant, which was issued by the NIH National Institute of Nursing Research, Loerzel will design, develop and test an interactive educational tool that will engage and prepare older adults who are being treated for cancer to make better self-care decisions at home. The tool will allow them to practice at-home symptom management with a character and real-life scenarios to visualize both good and bad outcomes based on their self-management choices. For example, if the character in the 鈥済ame鈥� is experiencing mild nausea from chemotherapy, the patient will have the option to choose how to manage it. They can decide to take medication, take a nap, watch TV and wait for it to pass, or do something else. Based on their answer, the nausea will either go away or get worse. After the 鈥済ame鈥� is played, the patient and their nurse will discuss the outcomes and decisions.

鈥淚t may sound simple, but a lot goes into decision-making for symptom self-management for older people,鈥� Loerzel said. 鈥淭hey often don鈥檛 think about how their actions impact their symptoms.鈥� Older adults are less likely to effectively manage chemotherapy side effects at home, placing them at greater risk for adverse events, such as dehydration, weight loss, low blood pressure and more. This results in reduced daily function and an increased chance of an unplanned hospitalization.

The project will be conducted in two phases over a nearly three-year period. For phase one of the project, the team will recruit and work with older adults at the cancer center at Orlando Health to understand their experience with chemotherapy induced nausea and illness. Phase two will be a clinical trial where the 鈥済ame鈥� will be piloted and tested in the outpatient ambulatory treatment center.

Once shown to be effective, Loerzel hopes this innovative educational tool will be widely used at the bedside to educate patients, improve symptom management at home, reduce severe symptoms, reduce unplanned hospital visits and ultimately, improve quality of life.

Co-investigators on the study are Dr. John Clochesy from the College of Nursing at the University of South Florida, Eileen Smith from at the , Dr. Patricia Geddie from the UF Health Cancer Center at Orlando Health who will serve as research nurse, and 麻豆原创 professor Dr. Xin Yan who will be the statistician.

Loerzel, who is an oncology certified nurse and has been a cancer nurse for more than 20 years, has focused much of her research on improving symptom management and quality of life for older adults with cancer. 鈥淥lder adults, ages 65 and older, are the most common group to be diagnosed with cancer, but are the least researched,鈥� she said. 鈥淟ife stage, life experience and personal beliefs about illness should be considered for approaching symptom management and educating patients on how to care for themselves.鈥�