{"id":111842,"date":"2024-05-21T01:58:00","date_gmt":"2024-05-21T06:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/?p=111842"},"modified":"2026-04-24T14:37:36","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T19:37:36","slug":"women-in-stem-four-unmc-trailblazers-breanna-hetland-phd-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2024\/05\/21\/women-in-stem-four-unmc-trailblazers-breanna-hetland-phd-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Women in STEM: Four UNMC trailblazers \u2013 Breanna Hetland, PhD"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The University of Nebraska Medical Center boasts a formidable cohort of women who drive scientific exploration and advance modern medicine in Nebraska and beyond. These visionary researchers and innovators are propelled by grit, resilience and personal resolve to \u201cfind a better way.\u201d Among them: Beth Beam, PhD; Rebekah Gundry, PhD; Breanna Hetland, PhD; and Hongying \u201cDaisy\u201d Dai, PhD.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

They were featured in the 2024 spring edition of UNMC Connect. See the online version of the publication at this link<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Serendipity, Integrated Care & Robotic Seals<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Registered nurse scientist Breanna Hetland, PhD, pushes the boundaries of traditional nursing practice, driven by a deep-seeded desire to \u201chumanize\u201d hospitalization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A native of Illinois, she joined the UNMC College of Nursing as an assistant professor in 2017 \u2013 fresh off a postdoctoral fellowship in symptom management and palliative care research in adults with advanced disease at Case Western Reserve\u2019s Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing in Cleveland, Ohio.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fellowship, sponsored by the National Institute of Nursing Research, solidified Dr. Hetland\u2019s determination to enhance the patient-family experience in the intensive care unit. Her father\u2019s brainstem stroke in 2013 would further emphasize the significance of integrating loved ones into the health care team.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an ICU nurse, Dr. Hetland understood the challenges faced by patients and their families during acute hospitalization, guiding them through the most traumatic experience of their lives. However, the experience felt totally different when the tables were turned, and she was the family member in the ICU.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWhat more can we do to address the holistic well-being of patients? That\u2019s the driving force behind every research project I undertake.\u201d \u2013 Breanna Hetland, PhD <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As a result, Dr. Hetland and a group of bedside nurses created the first version of the Family Room, an app to empower families to play an active role in day-to-day caregiving and decision-making during an acute hospitalization. The digital resource is designed to enhance outcomes, reduce health-care costs and mark a significant step toward holistic healing within the health-care system.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a rush of research funding and a serendipitous partnership with an invested co-founder, Greg Nelson, the business (familyroom.health<\/a>) and latest version of the app are nearly ready to meet the world \u2013 capping a collaboration since 2018 with UNMC\u2019s technology transfer office, UNeMed, and Nebraska\u2019s startup incubator and accelerator, UNeTech. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe app is just the beginning of our vision,\u201d Dr. Hetland said. One feature she especially likes is the comprehensive virtual tour of the hospital environment that provides insights into equipment, sounds and procedures. Family caregivers also can communicate real-time observations to clinicians. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOn average, it takes 17 years to turn research into practice. Remarkably, we did it with our prototype in just under six months.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022\u2022\u2022 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Dr. Hetland, nursing has always been about providing compassionate care: From saving a featherless baby sparrow as a youngster, to exploring STEM careers as a teen, to pivoting from pre-med to nursing at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and, finally, to innovating in health care. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who knows where she would be today if she hadn\u2019t boosted her ACT test score by four points, securing a full-ride, four-year Meridian Scholarship to SIUE? \u201cIt\u2019s the greatest gift I\u2019ve ever received,\u201d she said, emphasizing that she\u2019s now paying forward the generosity to her alma mater. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During her college years, she embarked on a \u201clife-changing\u201d 16-week cultural immersion in China and Tibet, where she delved into the study of holistic health and healing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a senior, she heeded her mentor\u2019s advice and joined an undergraduate research program, where she excelled. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, she had a \u201cvery intense\u201d Mayo Clinic internship, where she discovered her passion for critical care nursing in a transplant ICU. During this time, she also conducted a small descriptive study on student opinions of holistic healing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite faculty encouragement, Dr. Hetland initially passed on a fast-track BSN-to-PhD degree and returned after graduation to her hometown of Bartonville, Illinois, to work in a medical ICU. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI loved interacting with patients and families, yet I found myself constantly questioning the rationale behind certain procedures,\u201d she said. \u201cI couldn\u2019t let go of my need to understand the \u2018why\u2019 behind everything.\u201d After just 10 months in her first job as a clinical nurse, she changed course to pursue a PhD. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During doctoral studies at the University of Minnesota, Dr. Hetland worked under Linda Chlan, PhD, who was studying the effects of music therapy on ventilated patients in the ICU. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Concurrently, Dr. Hetland began examining the holistic needs of individuals experiencing acute crisis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn the ICU, we focus on saving patients physically, but we frequently overlook their emotional and psychological needs,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022\u2022\u2022 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Hetland, alongside husband Tyler, remains steadfast in a mostly work-from-home routine that blends structure with flexibility. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy children have made me a better scientist,\u201d she said of Layla, 5, and Tully, 22 months, with another child expected in August. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The day of this interview, the girls had an opportunity to interact with one of Mom\u2019s research assistants – Paro, a robotic baby harp seal. Currently undergoing trials with UNMC\u2019s clinical partners Nebraska Medicine and Children\u2019s Nebraska, the therapeutic seal is earning high marks in the pediatric ICU. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Dr. Hetland\u2019s daughters, Layla, 5, and Tully, 22 months, interact with Paro, the therapeutic seal.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

During her postgraduate studies, Dr. Hetland found a partner in holistic acute care in Buddy, a chocolate Labrador retriever she rescued heading into her postgraduate studies. \u201cOur job was to help families through this incredible crisis,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thanks to Dr. Hetland\u2019s critical care expertise, she and Buddy were often granted access to clinical areas rarely visited by animals. Over the span of four years, they dedicated more than 200 service hours together. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even after the Hetlands relocated to Omaha, Buddy remained a loyal companion. In a cherished photo, he is shown snuggling with newborn Layla, just a few months before he died. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buddy\u2019s impact on patients and families inspired Dr. Hetland to explore innovative ways of integrating animals into the ICU. Her search led to Paro, developed by AIST, a Japanese firm specializing in automations. Building on Paro\u2019s potential, Dr. Hetland pursued funding from the Pediatric Cancer Research Group for a collaborative clinical trial with Nebraska Medicine and the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center. <\/p>\n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n

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