Tanis Robinson, RN, PhD
Contact Info
Areas of Interest
Rural health care, Parkinson’s disease, newcomer mental health, and student success
About
Dr. Tanis Robinson is an Assistant Professor at the University of Regina with the Faculty of Nursing and has a keen interest in rural access to healthcare, the impact of chronic disease/illness and student success. With rural roots stemming from southeastern Saskatchewan, rurality has been the forefront of her nursing practice, education and research portfolio. With the belief that geography should not compromise access to healthcare, Dr. Robinson’s research aims to provide a greater understanding of rural residents’ healthcare needs and to develop practical interventions and strategies to improve rural healthcare outcomes given challenges in providing sustainable healthcare in rural areas. Tanis has supervised graduate students, research assistants, graduate teaching assistants and mentored/coached students at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Additionally, she serves as a member of the University of Regina Ethics committee, the FGSR Scholarship committee and various Faculty of Nursing committees.
Degrees and Designations
- PhD: University of Calgary, Faculty of Nursing, August 2020
- MN: University of Southern Queensland, Australia, April 2005
- BN: University of Lethbridge, AB, June 1995
- RN: SIAST Kelsey Campus, Saskatoon, Sask. June 1992
Canadian Association Schools of Nursing/Canadian Nurse Educator Institute: Nurse Educator Certification Program, 2022-2027
Current Teaching
- CNUR 207 Integrative Health
- CNUR 208 Spirituality & Health
- CNUR 400 Social, Political & Economic Perspectives in Nursing
- NURS 700 Theoretical Philosophical Foundations in Nursing
Recent Grants, Awards and Scholarships
Peer Reviewed Grants and Awards
CIHR Team Grant: Strengthening the Health Workforce for System Transformation. “Innovative Measures for Promoting Access and Care Transformation in Parkinson’s Disease (IMPACT-PD)”. Drummond, N. (PI), Chan, K. (Co-A), Cloutier, D. (Co-A), Goodarzi, A. (Co-A), Grosjean, S. (Co-A), Jones, C. (Co-A), Robinson, T. (Co-A), & Wieler, M. (Co-A). June 2024. Not funded; ranked 18th with 15 projects funded.
University of Regina President Research Seed Grant: Awarded June 2023 ($6000.00), “Enhancing Capacity for Mental Health Services to Newcomers in Southern Alberta: A rural context”. Robinson, T. (PI), Pennefather-O’Brien, E. (Co-I), & Burnett, A. N. (Co-I).
Parkinson Foundation Centre of Excellence CORE grant: Awarded June 2021 ($7099.00), “A navigation tool to help continuity of care for people living with Parkinson's disease". Robinson, T. (PI), Myisaki, J. (Co-I). Grant declined, July 2021.
Medicine Hat College Research Committee: Awarded December 2020 ($10,000) for ‘Capacity-Building for Enhanced Mental Health Service to New Comers in Southern Alberta’. Pennefather-O’Brien, E. (PI), Robinson, T. (Co-I) & Bennet, A. N. (Co-I).
Government of Canada – Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada. April 2020-April 2025 ($1, 076, 688.00). ‘Capacity-Building for Enhanced Mental Health Service to New Comers in Southern Alberta’. Pennefather-O’Brien, E. (PI), Bennet, A. N. (Co-I) & Robinson, T. (Co-I)
Medicine Hat College CITE: Awarded May 2017 ($8000.00) for scholarship project ‘Strategies for Promoting Student Success’. Thompson, M. J. (Co-A), Robinson, T. (Co-A), Sexsmith, S., Weich, U., Fritz, S.
Medicine Hat College Access to the Future – Research and Scholarly Activity Fund: Awarded November 2015 ($10,000.00). Awarded for scholarship project ‘Using the HESI NCLEX-RN Preparation as a Learning Modality for Students to Improve Exam Result – The implications for programming, practice, and student successes. Robinson, T. (PI), Hawley, P., & Forsyth, L.
Alberta Rural Development Network: Grant (up to $10,000.00) for research project, “Does Home-Visiting Improve Quality of Life for Those That Have Parkinson’s Disease Living in Rural Alberta – A Program Evaluation. Robinson, T. July 2011.
Scholarships
University of Calgary, Faculty of Nursing Entrance Scholarship: 2012, 2013 & 2014
Selected Scholarship Activities
- Conference committee organizer: Exploring Barriers to Mental Wellness in Rural Newcomers Conference Series (3 conferences), Brooks/Medicine Hat, AB, 2022-2024
- Abstract reviewer: International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (ISSOTL) 2017, 2018 & 2024
- McMaster Online Rating of Evidence (MORE): journal reviewer 2013 - present
- Reviewer: Abstract reviewer for Canadian Journal on Gerontology, May 2013 and 2014
- Reviewer: September 2012: for textbook, ‘Community Health Nursing Projects: Making a Difference, 2e,’ by Elizabeth Diem.
Peer reviewed Conference Presentations
Robinson, T., Cullen, M., Baydoun, M., & Todd, S. (2024, May 28). Transforming Teaching and Learning Experiences in Nursing Using Turk Talks. CASN Biennial Canadian Nursing Education Conference. Calgary, Alberta
Burnett, A., Pennefather – O’Brien, E., & Robinson, T. (2024, February 15). Exploring Barriers on Access to Mental Health Care for Newcomers in Southeast Alberta: An Update. Exploring Barriers to Mental Wellness in Rural Newcomers Conference, Brooks, Alberta.
Robinson, T., Pennefather-O’Brien, E., & Burnett, A. (2024, February 15). Building Capacity for Access to Mental Health Services for Newcomers: A project review. Exploring Barriers to Mental Wellness in Rural Newcomers Conference, Brooks, Alberta.
Robinson, T. (2023, June 6). Unpacking Grounded Theory: Alleviating Common Pitfalls [invited oral presentation]. Canadian Doctoral Nursing Network Conference, University of Regina, Regina, Saskatchewan.
Pennefather-O’Brien, E., Robinson, T., & Burnett, A. N. (2023, May 29-30). Building Capacity for Enhanced Mental Health Service to Newcomers in Southern Alberta. CASN Biennial Canadian Nursing Education Conference. St. John’s, Newfoundland.
Robinson, T. (2022, May 27). Discovering Dynamic Student Learning Using Turk Talk in OpenLabrynth. [invited oral presentation]. Virtual Simulation and Digital Tools for Health Care Education Seminar, University of Calgary, University St. Thomas (Chile), University St. Thomas (Houston).
Robinson, T., & Venturato, L. (2021, July 5). Continuing the Dance: A Constructivist Grounded Theory of Understanding Transitions of Rural Couples with Parkinson’s Disease [oral presentation]. Thinking Qualitatively Virtual Conference, University of British Columbia, BC, Canada.
Thompson, M. J., Robinson, T., Fritz, S., Weich, U. (2018, May, 27). Promoting Student Success: A Remediation Project [Round Table Session]. NISOD International Conference on Teaching and Leadership Excellence, Austin, Tx, USA
Thompson, M. J., Robinson, T., Fritz, S., Weich, U. (2018, April, 26) [Conference session]. Promoting Student Success: A Remediation Project. Medicine Hat College Research Symposium, Teaching the 21st Century Citizen: Teaching Critical Thinking in a Post-Truth World, Medicine Hat, AB.
Robinson, T. (May 27, 2017). Understanding Transitions and Adaptions of Rural Couples Living with Parkinson’s Disease [Invited Keynote]. Parkinson Alberta 2017 Hope Conference: Your tools for living well with Parkinson’s, Medicine Hat, Alberta.
Robinson, T. (October 15-19, 2016). Understanding Transitions and Adaptions of Rural Couples Living with Parkinson’s Disease [Conference session]. University of Alberta International Institute for Qualitative Methodology 22nd Qualitative Health Research Conference, Kelowna, BC
Robinson, T. (June 11, 2015). Understanding Transitions and Adaptations of Rural Couples Living with Parkinson’s Disease [Conference session]. The 2nd Canadian Doctoral Nursing Network Conference, Regina, Saskatchewan.
Current Research
Currently, Tanis and team are exploring access barriers to mental health services for newcomers in southern Alberta from both a quantitative and qualitative perspectives. This five-year Immigration and Refugee Citizenship Canada (IRCC) funded project will conclude in spring 2025. Tanis is also part of an interdisciplinary team that is submitting grants for Parkinson disease research.