Melissa Hatter, MSN, RN, CNM, had the opportunity to attend Sigma’s 46th Biennial Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, and present her research, “Using Nurse-Led Telemedicine Visits to Screen for Postpartum Depression During Worldwide Pandemic,” thanks to an Edith Anderson Leadership Education Grant from the Sigma Foundation for Nursing. 

“Sigma has been such an amazing platform for me to develop myself as a professional,” Melissa said. She received a small grant from her local chapter several years ago for a project in Montgomery, Alabama, USA, that she shared as a podium presentation at Sigma’s biennial convention in 2017. She learned about Sigma’s academies at convention and applied in 2019 for the 2020 cohort of Sigma’s Nurse Leadership Academy for Practice. She noted, “The [Nurse Leadership Academy for Practice] was an absolutely amazing opportunity to network with other nurse leaders and develop new skills, and my project has made a real difference in my clinical setting.” 

This academy focuses on developing the leadership skills of nurses in clinical practice, and one of the ways scholars develop their skills is through designing and implementing a clinical project. Since the COVID-19 pandemic was declared shortly after starting the academy, the scholars had to pivot their projects to something that could be done in the new pandemic environment. Melissa was fortunate to work at a practice that quickly embraced telemedicine opportunities, and her supervisors were eager for her project to be incorporated. Melissa implemented a telemedicine postpartum visit model in October 2020, and by the following spring, it had become an integral part of St. Francis OBGYN Associates' postpartum care model.

At convention, Melissa was able to give two presentations about her experience as a Sigma scholar and the results of her project. Reflecting on her 2021 convention experience, Melissa said, “I have attended Sigma’s biennial convention in the past and have thoroughly appreciated the opportunities to engage with other professional nurses and gain new insight into a variety of topics that pertain to nursing. With the COVID-19 pandemic, travel restrictions, and social distancing, the opportunities to interact with large nursing groups have been severely limited, which has made those few opportunities that much more valuable to me. The energy of attending Sigma’s biennial convention is still with me and has inspired me to look toward future nursing activities, including scholarship, research, and networking with other professionals. I cannot say enough to fully express my appreciation for the funding to support my attendance at convention.”

Leadership Education Grants are made possible through donations to the Sigma Foundation for Nursing. Donate today.