• Hometown:  Gurnee, IL
• Faculty mentor/advisor:  Ann Marie McCarthy, Professor, Nursing
• What is your degree program and expected graduate date?  PhD in Nursing. I expect to graduate in Spring 2021.
• Please describe your research: I am interested in understanding how nurses make judgements and decision regarding how they assess pain in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. This area sees a wide variety of children with some being non-verbal and others requiring mechanical ventilation and sedation. As a result, it is very difficult to assess pain. I want to understand this process in order to enhance decision-making.
• In simple terms, why does this research matter?  Children are a vulnerable population and when they are admitted into the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), they are even more susceptible to experience pain. I wish to understand how a child’s pain is perceived when they cannot speak for themselves. The goal is to make the child’s experience in the PICU as pain free as possible.
• How soon after starting at the University of Iowa were you able to participate in research? My first semester.
• How has being involved in research made you more successful at the University of Iowa? It is extremely helpful to understand the in’s and out’s of doing research as a student. Even if it is not in the area you wish to do your own research, having research experience can teach you the ability to conduct sound research. This can then hopefully allow you to avoid any fatal flaws in your own future research.
• What are your career goals and/or plans after graduation? I wish to stay at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in the Office of Nursing Research and Evidence-Based Practice and also at the College of Nursing to continue my own research in pediatric pain, while also working on implementing a variety of research into nursing bedside practice.

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