SCHOLAR DIRECTORY

I am currently a PhD candidate enrolled at Indiana University in the PhD in Nursing Science program. My research interest is focused on improving outcomes for women and children who have been affected by the opioid crisis. My research is focused on the mother-infant relationship in opioid-exposed dyads. For my dissertation, I am proposing a grounded theory method to explore the experiences of mothers with infants that have been diagnosed with neonatal abstinence syndrome. I received my BSN degree in 2001 and my MSN in 2010 in nursing education from Ball State University. I received the Clauser award for my academic performance during my undergraduate study. I have 8 years of experience working as a full-time faculty member at Ball State University and teaching maternal child and women’s health nursing. I am both a didactic and clinical nursing instructor and lead students in a variety of clinical settings and simulations. I also work as registered nurse on the pediatric and mother-baby units at IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital and have 16 years experience. I received the Customer Service Award for going beyond the expected nursing care for my patients at IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital. As nursing faculty, in addition to supervising undergraduate students, I also mentor graduate nursing students during their practicum. I serve on faculty and curriculum committees in the school of nursing and function in various roles. I hold memberships to AWHONN and Sigma Theta Tau.