Dr. Hanish helps nursing board achieve wellbeing designation

Alyson Hanish, PhD, UNMC College of Nursing assistant professor, has helped the Nebraska Board of Nursing toward its goal of reducing the stigma of mental health in health care workers.

The Nebraska Board of Nursing became the first nursing recipient of the WellBeing First Champion for 2024 by the program ALL IN: WellBeing First for Healthcare. Led by the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation, ALL In: WellBeing First for Healthcare aims to eliminate barriers for health workers to obtain mental health services. This means all applications for Nebraska nursing licenses now do not have invasive or stigmatizing language around mental health.

The distinction was achieved in partnership with the University of Nebraska’s Health Resources Service Administration team, led by Dr. Hanish as the program director. Since its inception, the HRSA team has delivered programming to more than 1,400 participants to address burnout and behavioral health conditions in nursing students.

Dr. Hanish said the distinction is directly in line with the mission of ALL IN: WellBeing First for Healthcare and the work the HRSA team has conducted since it began in 2022. Dr. Hanish said clinicians often avoid mental health care because of the fear of losing their licenses and credentials, as language on applications can be seen as broad and invasive.

“We are so proud that the Nebraska Board of Nursing is the first nursing recipient of the WellBeing First Champion Badge, indicating that the nursing licensing applications in Nebraska were free from overly broad and invasive mental health questions,” Dr. Hanish said.

Led by Dr. Hanish, the HRSA team partnered with the Nebraska Board of Nursing and Ann Oertwich, PhD, program manager, to apply for the designation.

Steven Wengel, MD, UNMC assistant vice chancellor for campus wellness, said the distinction will allow for a healthier workforce.

“This is a very, very important step in improving access to life- and career-saving treatment for our nurse colleagues, who give so much of themselves to their patients and ask for so little in return,” he said.