SCHOLAR DIRECTORY

I am a research nurse at The University of Chicago and have worked on issues related to palliative care and decision making at the end of life for the past four years. I have most recently been working with Drs. Sulmasy (UChicago) and Nolan (Johns Hopkins) on an empirical study aimed at understanding and improving the ethical treatment of patients, especially at the end of life. Our team has focused especially on the role of surrogates in decision making for decisionally incapacitated patients. I am the primary site coordinator and am the qualitative interviewer for both sites. I have experience in the areas of subject recruitment and retention, data management, and internal auditing. I provide support to other research nurses in the area of source document design, and I teach a module on source document design for the Office of Clinical Research’s course, Fundamentals of Clinical Research. I hold a baccalaureate degree in nursing from Georgetown University and a master’s degree in public health from The University of Illinois at Chicago. I am currently a full time PhD student at The University of Illinois at Chicago where I’ve been the TA for Epidemiology for two semesters. I am the President of the Ebury Court Condo Association and the co-chair for the Urban Prairie Waldorf School Gala. Lastly, I am a wife and the mother of two rambunctious boys, ages 7 and 5.

Since graduating from Vanderbilt University School of Nursing 12 years ago, I have worked in private practice specializing in pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine. I work in both the outpatient and inpatient settings caring for patients across a wide spectrum of illnesses and diseases. I currently reside and practice in the Orlando, Florida, area. Through practice, my research interest has grown out of recognizing the progressive functional decline in the chronic lung disease population which leads to frequent hospital admissions, increased morbidity and mortality, and loss of quality of life. I am investigating ways to reduce COPD hospital readmissions, particularly through pulmonary rehabilitation. I returned to Vanderbilt for doctoral study after completing my masters degree there in 2002 for the opportunity to work with leading nurse researchers who foster an environment of mentorship in a resource-rich academic setting.

After completing my Master’s of Science in Advanced Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing in May 2015 at New York University (NYU), I enrolled in the DNP program at NYU. I am currently working in a Psychiatric Community Clinic serving patients across the life span, which I enjoy immensely. I have found what I consider to be my calling – the goal of becoming a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP). I consider myself extremely fortunate that I have found a career that combines the rewards and challenges of my daily tasks as a critical care nurse with the unique privileges of being an independent practitioner. Equally exciting are the endless opportunities in this field to become an even greater asset to the nursing profession. I am a retired United States Air Force (USAF) officer, and I have participated in numerous real world disasters all over the world. I deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. I have functioned as both a mental health nurse and critical care nurse in very demanding, mentally stressful environments.
Developing myself further through New York University’s Graduate School of Nursing’s PMHNP program has paved the way to my goal of becoming a leader. I have gained a greater depth of knowledge with diagnosing and managing mental illness with psychotherapy, prescribing pharmacological therapy with authenticity, and extending compassion to all clients across the lifespan. My professional goals include integrating my critical care knowledge, and mental health specialty, to develop a holistic approach to education, prevention and treatment of mental health disorders. Earning my DNP will allow me to have more freedom and a greater variety of choices to pursue these goals.
Turning to New York University School of Nursing is a logical choice for me to earn my Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP) as the next stepping-stone in my personal and professional development. A DNP will provide me with administrative experience, research opportunities, and clinical practices that will allow for direct patient contact. I derive great satisfaction from professional growth as a registered nurse. I would like the opportunity to continue my enthusiastic efforts to grow as an advanced practitioner
Apart from patient care, I would like to teach as a professor at a university in the future. I consider being a teacher and mentor a very rewarding role, because teaching gives you the opportunity to pass on knowledge to a future generation of healthcare practitioners. Pursuing my DNP will also allow me to combine my critical care thinking, and decision making skills, with advanced knowledge and sensitivity, in order to manage patients with coexisting physical conditions by performing physical assessments, formulating differential diagnoses, and psychotherapy, or prescribing pharmacological treatment. I would like to develop stronger leadership skills toward clinical practice for health care delivery by studying for a DNP. I derive great satisfaction from professional growth as a registered nurse. I am thankful for the opportunity to continue my enthusiastic efforts to grow as an advanced practitioner and skilled clinician by earning my DNP.