Tampa General Hospital (TGH), in collaboration with the USF Health College of Nursing, is launching its inaugural TGH/USF Nursing Research Fellowship, designed to empower frontline nurses to engage in nursing research and evidence-based practice with the mentorship, education, and infrastructure needed to turn clinical questions into meaningful scientific inquiry.
The fellowship is a 12-month mentored program connecting TGH nurses with clinical and academic research experts. Fellows receive structured education, mentorship, and support to develop and advance clinically relevant research and evidence-based practice.
The fellowship builds on a broader vision championed by Wendi Goodson-Celerin, executive vice president and chief nursing executive at TGH, to strengthen nursing excellence and build a sustainable nursing research infrastructure that gives nurses greater opportunities to generate, evaluate, and apply evidence to improve patient care.
That vision complements TGH’s continued commitment to Magnet excellence. In 2024, TGH achieved its fifth consecutive Magnet designation, placing it among less than 2% of hospitals nationwide to achieve Magnet recognition five consecutive times.
“This collaboration has the potential to jump-start engagement in nursing science by creating relationships between clinicians and research faculty,” said Goodson-Celerin. “Our goal is to give nurses the mentorship, encouragement, and resources to take that first step and to see themselves not only as consumers of evidence, but also as contributors to the science that shapes nursing practice.”
Lakeshia Cousin, nurse scientist, leads TGH’s Nursing Research Program and serves as program lead for the Nursing Research Fellowship, working in collaboration with Cherilyn Ashlock, senior director of nursing excellence and magnet programs.
“As a hospital-based nurse scientist, my role is to help bridge clinical practice and research by building the infrastructure that makes research more accessible to our nurses,” said Cousin. “Our nurses identify important questions through patient care every day. We want to ensure they have the mentorship, expertise, and organizational support to turn those questions into rigorous research and evidence-based practice that can improve nursing practice and patient outcomes.”
The TGH/USF Nursing Research Fellowship Steering Committee reflects the collaborative approach behind the program, bringing together interdisciplinary leaders from TGH Nursing, the Office of Clinical Research, the Professional Development Institute, Library Services, the TGH Cancer Institute and the USF Health College of Nursing. Together, these partners contribute expertise in research, education, professional development and mentorship to support fellows and strengthen nursing research at TGH.
“This program is about helping nurses recognize that the questions they encounter at the bedside can become meaningful opportunities for inquiry and discovery,” said Usha Menon, dean of the USF Health College of Nursing. “By pairing the clinical expertise of Tampa General nurses with the research expertise available at TGH and the USF Health College of Nursing, we can provide the mentorship and support nurses need to become more deeply engaged in nursing science.”
Ukamaka Oruche, Gordon Keller Professor at the USF Health College of Nursing, serves as one of the program’s faculty mentors. Oruche is an accomplished nurse scientist whose work includes mentoring researchers and cultivating research capacity. The Gordon Keller Professorship also carries a meaningful connection to Tampa’s nursing history, honoring Dr. Gordon Keller, whose namesake school of nursing helped establish the foundation for formal nursing education in Tampa.
“It is especially meaningful to participate in this initiative as the Gordon Keller Professor of Nursing,” Oruche said. “This program connects Tampa’s proud history of nursing education with its future in nursing science. By mentoring frontline nurses and helping them develop the questions that arise from clinical practice into research and evidence, we have an opportunity to cultivate the next generation of nurse scientists and strengthen the impact nurses can have on patient care.”
The inaugural 2026-2027 TGH/USF Nursing Research Fellowship includes four TGH nurses whose projects span pediatric oncology, diabetes education, skin failure, and the transition of newly graduated nurses into clinical practice.
Together, TGH and the USF Health College of Nursing are creating a stronger pathway for front-line nurses to engage in research, contribute to nursing science, and translate evidence into better care for patients and communities.
Learn more about nursing research and evidence-based practice at TGH through the TGH Nursing Research website.