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Online Journal of Rural Nursing and Health Care, 15(2) 
http://dx.doi.org/10.14574/ojrnhc.v15i2.402                                                                                   1 
 

Editorial  

Sticky Buns and Scholarship 

Pamela Stewart Fahs, PhD, RN, Editor 

Imagine the scene, it is a cold December day yet the inside is cozy, with a roaring fire and 

large covered bowels of dough beside the hearth.  The smell of yeast dough permeates the house.  

“Sticky Buns”, an old family recipe from the Appalachian Mountains in southeastern KY, for 

homemade cinnamon buns with a decadent caramel and nut topping, are being prepared for the 

holidays. Not the scene usually associated with scholarship yet a professor and doctoral students 

are working on an abstract for submission to a rural nursing research conference.  Sister 

Arminger (1974, p. 160) said “life experiences, all of them, make the scholar”.  The socialization 

of a scholar has traditionally taken place in a male dominated academy.  The manner of 

socialization to scholarship may vary by discipline and place and yes even primary gender within 

the area of science.   

The purpose of academia and thus the faculty within the system is to create and disseminate 

knowledge.  Research is a strong component in the creation of knowledge and critical to 

dissemination are the components of teaching and scholarship. The method of dissemination can 

vary significantly by discipline and is of course in transition as our technology changes. Whether 

it is in a typical classroom, authoring a book, journal article, presentation, webinar. poster, or 

dissemination of knowledge in clinical practice we can and should take opportunities to socialize 

our nurse scientists to participate in both research and scholarship.  

The abstract (Pribulick, Quaranta, Srnka-Debnar, & Daws, 2009) prepared in this 

seemingly incongruent setting emerged from a piece of research that was conceived in the 

classroom, carried out in rural communities and was disseminated at a national conference 



Online Journal of Rural Nursing and Health Care, 15(2) 
http://dx.doi.org/10.14574/ojrnhc.v15i2.402                                                                                   2 
 

focused on rural nursing and health.  Busy schedules and creative planning allowed this project 

to come to fruition. This may not have been what Sister Arminger had in mind but it was 

certainly a unique life experience that did help build scholars in rural nursing science and one 

that could be viewed as fitting given the students were completing their doctoral work in a 

program focused on rural nursing.  

The 2016 International Rural Nursing Conference is going to be held in Rapid City South 

Dakota, July 19 -21, 2016.  Whether you are a clinician, educator, or student; conducting 

research, providing care, or working on health policy this conference is one you should explore.  

Abstracts are being accepted until February 1, 2016 at www.mhch.org/international-rural-

nursing-conference-abstract-submission .  Bring your scholarship to this upcoming conference as 

part of your life experience. 

References 

Arminger, B. (1974). Scholarship in nursing. Nursing Outlook, 22, 160-164. 

Pribulick, M., Quaranta, J., Srnka-Debnar, F., Daws, M. (2009, June). Perceptions rural fair 

attendees: The relationship of nurse body size, gender and level of confidence in receiving 

health teaching. Poster session presented at the Rural Nurse Organization Conference. 

Quality: The Rural Nurse Perspective. Boise, ID