Education

B.A. Gustavus Adolphus College, M.S. and Ph.D. University of Minnesota

Areas of Expertise

Family health and Domestic violence

Interests

Nursing theory and Nursing research

Barb Zust ’76

Nursing
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Barbara L. Zust loves the diversity and creativity she finds in nursing. Her clinical practice has had a family health focus that includes her work with grieving families in oncology/hospice; acutely ill patients and their families in ICU/CCU; struggling and/or violent families in public health; and new families in OB.

In 1996, Barbara received grant money to fund her Master's research with INSIGHT : A Group Cognitive Therapy Program for Women designed by Dr. Verona Gordon. She used INSIGHT as a tool of empowerment for rural women-- many of whom had experienced violence at the hands of their partners. Barbara continued her research with women's empowerment through discovery of self in the INSIGHT program during her doctoral studies at the University of Minnesota. Barbara hopes to share the INSIGHT program with incarcerated women at both long term and short term correctional facilities. However, she is finding that it is hard to get into prisons ---legally.

Barbara teaches maternity nursing and mental health nursing at Gustavus. She finds that the rurality of the college gives Gustavus nursing students a unique opportunity to explore both urban and rural aspects of healthcare. For example, Gustavus maternity nursing students have clinical experiences in large birthing centers in the metro area and at the same time have the opportunity to provide much needed family health nursing service projects for the rural community in which the college is nestled. Barbara also works with students who are interested in human wellness research. All of her research students submit their studies for presentation at the National Conference for Undergraduate Research ( NCUR). In 2006, she was awarded the Nursing Network on Violence Against Women International Teacher of the Year.

Barbara lives in St. Peter with her husband, Roger McKnight from the Scandinavian Studies Department at Gustavus. They currently have three cats and are prone to taking in animals in spite of the fur issues they cause in the home. Barbara loves to laugh and enjoys good times with her three grown children and her extended family. She loves to travel and is currently looking forward to creating a J-Term experience in Tanzania. Her life goal is to be fluent in Swedish.

Research: Cognitive therapy, domestic violence

Recent Publication: Zust, B. (2006) Death as a transformation of wholeness: An `aha' experience of health as expanding consciousness. Nursing Science Quarterly. (Accepted for publication, March, 2005)

Evanson, T. & Zust, B. (2006). Bittersweet knowledge: The long-term impact of an international service experience. Journal of Nursing Education, 45(10) .

Zust, B. (2006) Meaning of INSIGHT participation among women who have experienced intimate partner violence. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 27(7).

Zust, B. & Briggs, N. (2006) Labor induction practices in a rural, Midwestern hospital. Onlie Journal of Rural Nursing and Healthcare, 6(2).

Contact Information

Nursing
Gustavus Adolphus College
800 West College Avenue
Saint Peter, MN 56082

Phone: 507-933-6097
E-mail: bzust@gustavus.edu

Courses Taught

• Mental Health
• Perinatal Health

Barbara (Barb) Zust's Schedule