Mrs. Kusum Gurung is a dedicated nursing academic, researcher, and mental health nursing professional with 15 years of integrated clinical, academic, and research experience. She holds a B.Sc. Nursing and an M.Sc. in Psychiatric/Mental Health Nursing (2012) and is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Nursing through the National Consortium for Ph.D. in Nursing, Indian Nursing Council. She serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mental Health Nursing at RINER, RUAS, Bengaluru, with a strong foundation in both ICU and psychiatric nursing.

Doctoral Research & Research Expertise

Her doctoral research, titled “Long-Term Impact of COVID-19 Infection among Nurses,” employs an explanatory sequential mixed-methods approach to investigate fatigue, sleep quality, brain fog, blood pressure, BMI, hematological parameters, longitudinal health changes, nurses’ experiences, and the impact of COVID-19 on nursing care delivery. Her protocol was published in the Journal of Neurosciences in Rural Practice in 2026.

Mrs. Gurung has expertise in quantitative, qualitative, mixed-methods, cross-sectional, systematic review, narrative review, and research protocol methodologies. She uses SPSS for quantitative analysis and NVivo for qualitative data management and thematic analysis.

Research Leadership & Scholarly Contributions

She serves as the Principal Investigator of a seed-funded project on the efficacy of one-session brief intervention and telephonic contact for suicide prevention. Her research portfolio covers mental health, psychiatric nursing, suicide prevention, substance use, adolescent mental health, cyberbullying, caregiver well-being, occupational health, and Long COVID.

She has contributed to numerous scholarly publications, including research on the long-term effects of COVID-19 among nurses, tobacco dependence, academic procrastination and stress, caregiver quality of life, substance use disorders, adolescent mental health, COVID-19 survivors, vaccination attitudes, and nursing care.

Awards & Scientific Recognition

Mrs. Gurung received the Best Oral Presentation Award in 2026 for her presentation, “Mixed Method Study on Long-Term Impact of COVID-19 Infection among Nurses – A Pilot Study,” at the National Workshop on Scientific Writing organized by St. John’s College of Nursing, Bengaluru.

She has also presented her research at national-level academic and scientific forums, including NIMHANS, Bengaluru; the Indian Society of Psychiatric Nurses Annual Conference; NAMSCON; and other national nursing conferences.

Teaching, Mentorship & Academic Leadership

As an educator, she teaches Mental Health and Psychiatric Nursing, Nursing Research, Research Methodology, Therapeutic Communication, Psychiatric Rehabilitation, Nursing Ethics, Evidence-Based Nursing Practice, and related subjects. She employs simulation, case-based learning, role play, reflective learning, clinical demonstrations, and research-based teaching.

She actively mentors undergraduate and postgraduate students in research projects, scientific writing, clinical learning, and professional development. She has also contributed to research methodology workshops, faculty-student publications, academic coordination, and institutional development and has served as an Institution’s Innovation Council (IIC) Coordinator.

Research Interests

Her major research interests include mental health and psychiatric nursing, nurses’ mental health and well-being, Long COVID and occupational health, suicide prevention, substance use and addiction, adolescent and school mental health, cyberbullying, psychological resilience, fatigue and cognitive health, caregiver mental health, mixed-methods research, qualitative research, evidence synthesis, nursing education, and evidence-based nursing practice.

Eligibility for Young Researcher Award 

Mrs. Kusum Gurung is eligible for the Young Researcher Award in Scientific Laurels based on her emerging and impactful research profile, doctoral research in a contemporary healthcare concern, peer-reviewed scholarly publications, seed-funded research leadership, national-level scientific presentations, and recognition through the Best Oral Presentation Award (2026). Her multidisciplinary work addressing nurses’ long-term health, mental health, suicide prevention, and evidence-based nursing practice demonstrates strong research potential and meaningful contributions to nursing science and healthcare.

Mrs. Kusum Gurung represents an emerging nursing researcher who effectively integrates clinical expertise, academic teaching, research leadership, scientific publication, and student mentorship. Her ongoing doctoral research and growing scholarly contributions, combined with national recognition for research presentation, position her as a promising researcher deserving consideration for the Young Researcher Award in Scientific Laurels.