Op-ed Articles by Rush Public Voices Fellows

Rush University’s College of Nursing “Public Voices Fellowship,” now in its second year, is a prestigious program offered in partnership with The OpEd Project - an organization working to dramatically increase the public impact of our nation’s top underrepresented thought leaders. The fellowship provides a select and diverse cohort of approximately 20 participants with extraordinary resources, skills and support over the course of nine months to ensure their ideas shape not only the work in their field, but also the greater public conversations of our age.

In 2017, our first cohort of Rush Nursing fellows published 53 articles in just five months. All 22 participants reported that the experience was transformational both professionally and personally. Now in our second year, Rush Nursing fellows continue to display their expertise and passion nationally on current societal, cultural, and health issues.

Browse the original op-ed pieces from Rush University College of Nursing cohorts:

Author Publication Title

Angela Moss

Garnet

We Need To Talk about Suicide: Please have a Conversation

Melissa Kalensky

The Hill

Death vs. Debt: This is Why we Need Health Insurance Guarantees

Michelle Heyland

Garnet

Hotlines and Deadends: Community-Based Programs Work to Prevent Suicide

Michelle Heyland

The Hill

After Mass Shootings, Mental Illness is Always the Scapegoat

Rebecca Darmoc

Inside Higher Ed

We Still Don’t Get It: Diversity Marketing Must Be More than Skin Deep

Amber Kujath

Medium

Beyond Scary: A Need All Year for Nurses Specializing in Bones

Melissa Kalensky

HuffPo

Don’t Be Scared: 4 Keys for Breast Cancer Screening, Treatment Access

Monique Reed

Pacific Standard

No Sweet Deal: Why Taxing Sugary Beverages is a Must

Rhonda Owens

MS.

Power (and Mentorship) For Girls!

Shannon Halloway

Medium

Demential Awareness and Prevention Should Start Earlier

Wrenetha Julion

Scientific American

Bias Begins Much Too Early: We Need to Start Eliminating Disparities in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)

Barbara Shaw

Truthout

Ripple Effects: DACA’s Future Affects the Healthcare of All Americans

Angela Johnson

Garnet

Integrative Medicine as a Part of Cancer Treatment: The Efficacy of a West Meets East Approach

Dawn Bounds

Chicago Reporter

Taking MeToo Conversation Beyond Sexual harassment

Dawn Bounds

Medium

Parents Beware: The Stranger Danger is in Your Home

Erik McIntosh

Role Reboot

#Bullied: Stop The Harassment of Our LGBTQ Youth

Erik McIntosh

Morning Consult

Safe Spaces: Train more To Better Serve LGBTQ

Heide Cygan

Motto

Why we shouldn’t be afraid to talk about our miscarriages

Rachel Start

World Congress

Interview on ambulatory nurses

Melissa Kalensky

Stat News

More Than Minions

Angela Moss

Medium

Access To health Care: America’s Real Health Crisis for Insured

Susan Swider

LARB

Healths Social Determinants: Nurses Are Key to Addressing Better Outcomes

Susan Buchholz

Next Avenue

Walking to avoid winter weight gain

Barbara Shaw

Washington Post The Lily

#MyMotherToo: It’s time to pay attention to elder sexual abuse

Alice Geis

Medium

Let Healers Heal with Medicare for All

Rachel Start

The Hill

Use nurses as keys to connect the dots in better healthcare

Rhonda Owens

Chicago Reporter

Focusing on violence misses the bigger story about Chicago

Monique Reed

The Grio

To all Black families: Remember to speak up about health concerns today

Dawn Bounds

Garnet News

Time to expose those who fuel sex trafficking demand

Michelle Heyland

Morning Consult

Violence at inpatient psychiatric facilities

Alice Geis

The Hill

Workplace wellness programs

Erik McIntosh

LARB

Viewer Beware: We Need More LGBTQ TV role models for kids

Rachel Start

Garnet News

The Bullying Stops Here

Raechel Ferry-Rooney

HuffPo

Compromise is possible in the gun control debate

Angela Johnson

Medium

Co-authored with Mona Shatell on digital detox

Shannon Halloway and Melissa Kalensky

The Healthcare blog

Co-authored on need to address Alzheimer’s prevention earlier

Monique Reed

garnet news

Black Girls Move

Shannon Halloway

Next Avenue

Should loneliness be the next vital sign?

Wrenetha Julion

Stat News

Black mothers are dying: the toll of racism on maternal health

Lynn Mohr

Washington Post

The conversation to have with teens who want tattoos

Melissa Kalensky

The Hill

Fix what we’ve got and make Medicare right this year

Sally Lemke

The Hechinger Report

We can’t afford not to supply school-based healthcare

Michelle Heyland

The Hill

The danger of diagnosing mental illness through the media

Michelle Heyland

Morning Consult

The issue of managing mental health crisis in emergency departments

Susan Buchholz and Shannon Halloway

Garnet News

It’s time to learn a new language: Being nilingual benefits your brain

Rhonda Owens

Garnet News

A Black Woman’s Ballot Box

Shannon Halloway and Diana Taylor

The Hill We all need to be concerned about national health policies

Susan Buchholz and Sarah Ailey

The Hill Amended disability act

Lynn Mohr

Morning Consult Screen Time and Family Time: Healthy Ways to Make It All Work

Lynn Mohr

Garnet News What do you tell your kids about social media? 

Barbara Shaw

Chicago Tribune Fear, anxiety, apprehension

Wrenetha Julion

Truthout Is The American Dream Over For Black Boys?

Angela Moss

Morning Consult Credibility Gap: Better Health Care Means Inviting Nurses Into Decision-Making

Dawn Bounds

Garnet News Bullycide

Lois Platt

The Hill There’s A New Drug Crisis Harming Americans

Todd Ruppar

Scientific American Has Your Health Insurance Really Got You Covered?

Janice Phillips

Garnet News Aging Out: An Honest Look at What Happens to Foster Children

Karen DeCocker

Garnet News The Credible Victim

Josie Howard-Ruben

The Hill Sesame - A Hidden Danger Prompts Urgent Need for US Labeling

Colleen Chierici

The Hill The Cost of Not Talking About Death to Dying Patients

Kate Webster

Garnet News Women Follow Dr. Ford’s Lead

Stephanie Garcia

Garnet News Why Girls Should Stay Off Social Media Until Age 16

Jan Odiaga

The Hill Healthcare Shortage Can Be Solved by Increased Funding for Education and Training

Elizabeth Stewart

Chicago Tribune Faith or Fallacy? Alternative Treatments Failed My Mother

Todd Ruppar

The Hill Publicized Drug Prices will be Meaningless to the Consumer

Margaret Bavis

BuzzFlash This November, I’m Voting for my Patients

Janice Phillips

Morning Consult Health Care Meets the Voting Booth: Why Housing Policies Determine Wellness

Mallory Bejster

AJN Blog What can nurses do to influence health in their communities? 

Terry Gallagher

USA Today Australia is about to eradicate cervical cancer, US is nowhere close

Olimpia Paun

NBC Think Loneliness is an epidemic with real public health consequences. Friends alone can’t solve it. 

Lois Platt

The Hill No longer banned: Thanksgiving welcome for new Americans

Josie Howard-Ruben

The Hill Happy Thanksgiving: Make sure everyone’s food is allergen-free

Janice Phillips, Mallory Bejster

The Hill Let’s give thanks to nurses

Kate Webster

Hechinger Report 3 ways that colleges can support underrepresented students after the Harvard case

Janice Phillips, Maria Alonso

The Hill Health Care Access and Delays: A True Crisis in America

Colleen Chierici

The Hill Health Care Gap: Miners Shine Light on National Access Problem

Colleen Chierici

Pacific Standard The Much-Ignored Emissions Costs of Health Care

Tricia Kierny

The Hill Is homelessness hopeless? Ending the crisis is urgent

Janice Phillips

Scientific American Unfair Diagnosis: Socioeconomic Gap Drives Cancer Outcomes

Mary Heitschmidt

Ms. Magazine Blog Helping Girls and Women Win

Terry Gallagher

The Hill Anti-vax and anti-abortion movements are filled with misinformation

Josie Howard-Ruben

Scientific American The Dangers of Flying While Allergic

Lois Platt

Garnet News Get your kid vaccinated 

Terry Gallagher

US News & World Report Homelessness Is a National Crisis

Margaret Bavis

Ms. Magazine Blog Press Refresh: It’s Time to Change the Narrative Around Nursing

Maria Alonso-Garcia

Latino USA The Wall Is Here: Fighting Everyday Racism, Hate at Work

Janice Phillips

The Hill We must develop social policies that will address the needs of the ‘hidden faces’

Aney Abraham

Morning Consult Social media: How and why nurses need it

Lois Platt

Garnet News Alcohol and Sexual Assault 

Josie Howard-Ruben

The Hill Did kale lose its superstar status?

Terry Gallagher

USA Today Drug overdoses go viral: Social media videos exploit personal tragedy, ‘trauma’ for likes

Colleen Chierici

The Hill Air pollution discriminates 

Janice Phillips

The Hill The time to solve America’s health care crisis is way overdue

Ingrid Forsberg

Thrive Global Keep quiet: Stay calm, focused, silent and reduce stress

Aney Abraham, Janice Phillips

The Hill Notre Dame can’t be more urgent than people without food and shelter

Janice Phillips, Colleen Chierici

The Hill Nurses aren’t sitting around playing cards, they’re solving global health

Terry Gallagher

Garnet News Blood Work: Elizabeth Holmes, Theranos & the Abilene Paradox

Aney Abraham

Reflections on Nursing Leadership I’m proud to be a nurse!

Olimpia Paun

The Hill It’s time to support family caregivers

Elizabeth Stewart

Garnet News Nurses show Trump the way

Josie Howard-Ruben

Morning Consult Key ACA provisions help keep 32 million Americans with food allergies safer

Colleen Chierici

The Hill There’s a War on Clean Air and Our Children Will Suffer

Terry Gallagher

Chicago Tribune Fake Nancy Pelosi video is a reminder that mockery of stuttering needs to stop

Mary Heitschmidt

US News & World Report Focus on People, Not Pre-Existing Conditions

Janice Phillips

Scientific American Race Matters to the Health of African-American Men

 

Olimpia Paun and Mallory Bejster

 

AJN Blog In Nursing, Empathy is a Practice to Cultivate

Terry Gallagher and Angela Moss

The Hill Connecting the dots on social determinants of health

Janice Phillips and Aney Abraham

The Hill Lack of personal hygience products: Violation of human rights for incarcerated women

Mary Heitschmidt

The Hill Vaping is a public health crisis for US children

Janice Phillips

The Hill Education is the key to escaping a life of poverty and poor health