Clinical Research Associate

I have worked in healthcare since 2004.  I enjoy advocating for my patients and I am passionate about empowering vulnerable groups.  I love involving an individual in becoming an active participant in their care when creating a tailored comprehensive treatment plan based on evidence-based practices.  The best way to ensure that someone will work with you to adhere to their care plan is to educate them. People like to know why they are being asked to do things, so education goes a long way in making sure everyone is on the same page.  I’ve also always been fascinated by research.  The results section and using a mixed method research approach are my favorite parts.

Degrees

• Post-MSN – Emergency Nurse Practitioner – Vanderbilt University
• MSN – Family Nurse Practitioner – Chamberlain University
• BSN – Nursing - Chamberlain University
• AND – Nursing - Georgia State University

Research Interests

• Mental health disorders
• Substance use disorders
• Domestic violence
• Incarceration and recidivism

Current Projects

• Developmental Reentry for Emerging Adult Management (DREAM)

What is so fascinating about one research project you are working on at ACE!

The emerging adult population is often susceptible to impulsive behavior until a certain age.  Being part of the DREAM program that will attempt to address key development issues and attempt to improve outcomes while using a variety of research techniques is both fascinating and exciting. 

How do you think working on ACE! projects will make you a better researcher?

ACE! involves high quality research and collaborative work with members from different organizations.  Having an opportunity to learn from such a diverse interdisciplinary team would give me the tools to better understand other people’s perspective. It will strengthen not only my communication team skills but also the ability to approach each situation more objectively and with an open mind having another person’s and specialty point of view and input. 

 If you had to give advice to an agency about Evidence-Based practices, what would that be?

As a clinician and an advocate for holistic care myself, I consider EBP to be an effective way to improve patient safety.  The goal of it is to improve quality of care and health outcomes by combining research, a clinician’s expertise, and the patient’s perspective so my advice to agencies would be to remain motivated to continue using these practices when it comes to healthcare decision-making.