Many experiences have shaped my enthusiasm for pursuing an academic career focused on research to promote quality of life for patients and their caregivers. Early in my career, in my work as a clinical nurse, I advocated for care focused on critically ill patient/family wishes at the end-of-life (EOL). To increase my opportunities to conduct and implement research, I pursued an MSN with specialization as a Pulmonary Clinical Nurse Specialist. I was recruited to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (PENN Lung Center) where I assumed a leadership role implementing research projects for the Pulmonary and Critical Care Division. I participated in developing evidence-based programs to reduce hospitalizations for patients with asthma and supported development of a lung transplantation program. I developed and coordinated the PENN Quit Smoking Program, which became the tobacco cessation program for the University of Pennsylvania Health System.
In 2000, I became the Pulmonary Clinical Nurse Specialist at the highly active clinical research program at the University of Pittsburgh Dorothy P. & Richard P. Simmons Center for Interstitial Lung Disease. The environment was energizing and prompted me to enroll in the PhD program at the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing. This led to a faculty appointment in the Department of Medicine Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine division at the University of Pittsburgh. Based upon my clinical interactions with patients, caregivers, and research findings, I developed an early palliative care intervention entitled “A Program of SUPPORTÔ (Symptom management, Understanding the disease, Pulmonary rehabilitation, Palliative care, Oxygen therapy, Research participation, and Transplantation).” This is a multi-component, nurse-led intervention that was developed utilizing focus group input from stakeholders (patients, family caregivers, providers) and tested/ revised in an iterative manner to address the pulmonary care needs of patients and their families to maximize disease self-management. Research findings revealed multiple EOL concerns of patients/family caregivers.
In November 2020 I was recruited to the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in Charleston, SC as the Mary Swain Endowed Chair for Palliative Care Health in the College of Nursing. In my new role, I am working to expand palliative care scholarship and building collaborations with international experts in the MUSC Palliative Care and Telemedicine programs to promote palliative care awareness, advocacy, and improve quality of life for patients and families affected by these serious lung illnesses.
As nurses, we cannot underestimate the impact that we have on advocating for the best care of those entrusted to us. In preparation for this session, I encourage you each to think about the impact that you’ve had.