Hyeryeong Lee, a first-year PhD student from South Korea, previously worked in a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU), caring for critically ill children.
The children and nurses in the PICU inspired her. “One particularly memorable moment was when a child who had been hospitalized in the PICU for a long time stopped by the PICU to say hello to us in good health after being discharged. The moment truly supported the impact of our work and brought me joy,” Lee said.
The nurses she worked with faced heavy workloads in an unsupportive environment. They wanted to spend as much time as possible reassuring and communicating with the children and their families, but there were time constraints.
“I realized that improving nursing resources and providing more support are essential to enhance the quality of nursing care and patient outcomes,” Lee said. “This motivated me to pursue a PhD in which I could delve into research on nursing resources from an economic perspective, producing scientific evidence to support improvements in nursing resources and care quality.”
Nurse staffing and work environment are two important parts of the resources nurses need to provide care. “Nurse staffing refers to workforce, skill mix, and nurse-patient ratio, and the work environment includes collaborative relationships among staff members, work schedules, organizational culture, leadership characteristics and technologies used in nursing practice,” she said.
Lee was happy and thankful to receive a national fellowship from the SBS Foundation in South Korea on July 30, 2024. She is the first nurse to receive this fellowship, which fully funds her PhD for four years. “This scholarship is more than just support for my PhD program, it is a heartfelt encouragement that keeps me motivated to pursue my dreams,” she said. “I hope to give back to society even more than I’ve received by contributing through my research and education in the future.”
Lee chose The Ohio State University College of Nursing’s PhD program because of the faculty’s expertise in her field of study. Her research focuses on the relationship between hospital performance and nurse staffing as well as disparities in nursing care due to unequal nursing resources across hospitals.
Lee feels supported by her advisors, Dr. Heather Tubbs Cooley and Dr. Jin Jun, whose research interests align with hers. The faculty are committed to being valuable resources for PhD students in developing research, knowledge and skill sets, she says. She was also excited about the research residency, which allows students to gain hands-on research experience with advisors, and the cognate minor, which enables interdisciplinary learning that aligns with her research interests.
Lee offers this advice to prospective PhD students at the Ohio State College of Nursing: “Take full advantage of the supportive academic community. I would encourage incoming students to take time to reflect on and explore their goals for what they want to achieve through nursing research. Having clear goals will help maintain motivation throughout the long PhD journey. I look forward to seeing you at OSU!”
