Katherine Gregory, a professor in the Connell School of Nursing (CSON), was recently named the first Haley Nurse-Scientist at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) in Boston.
A nurse-scientist is a doctorally-prepared nurse who works on specific areas of research that require the incorporation of both clinical and academic backgrounds.
"It is a great honor to be a Haley Nurse-Scientist at Brigham and Women's Hospital," Gregory said in a recent statement.
"This collaboration is a wonderful opportunity that brings together the clinical expertise of nurses at the Brigham, and the research expertise of a nurse-scientist," she said. "The result of the collaboration supported by Mr. and Mrs. Haley will rapidly advance nursing science and, in turn, improve patient care."
Gregory, who studies gastrointestinal health and disease in premature infants, will work directly with BWH staff to further their research to advance the practice of nursing.
"The Haley Nurse-Scientist is a crucial next step in developing academic practice partnerships that help nursing science develop from the bedside and be translated back to the bedside, in a much more time-efficient manner than has been the case in the past," Dean of CSON Susan Gennaro said in a recent statement.
"Dr. Kate Gregory is a fabulous choice for this honor as she is an NIH funded nurse researcher who is conducting innovative research to improve the health of our smallest and most fragile patients, premature babies."
Gregory has previously studied the pathogenesis of gastrointestinal disease in premature infants. She has also performed research developing new models of disease prediction for necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), a life-threatening gastrointestinal disease.
Three or four Boston College nurse-scientists will go to BWH over the course of the next five years to conduct their own research as a condition of the Haley program. These nurse-scientists will work with nurses currently conducting research studies and developing evidence-based nursing practices.
Gregory herself has worked over the past two years as a nurse-scientist, helping several BWH nurses develop their own studies, including a study of tub bathing versus sponge bathing in maintaining temperature control in late, pre-term infants, and measuring the impact of a nurse-led antenatal class on maternal stress.
The Steven and Kathleen Haley Nurse-Scientist Program is funded by a $1 million gift from Steven and Kathleen Haley, creators of the Brain Science Foundation. The gift represents the largest single gift ever awarded to BWH's department of nursing.
"Our program is complementary and links two great institutions – BWH and Boston College," Kathleen Haley said in a recent statement. "These research concerns can result in new best practices in clinical care."
Mairead Hickey, chief nursing officer and senior vice president of Patient Care Services at BWH, said the new program will increase the magnitude of research performed at the hospital.
"The Haley Nurse-Scientist Program will allow us to push the envelope to generate new knowledge and applications for clinical nurses and nurse scientists locally and nationally," she said.
"This will help the [BWH] department of nursing ensure our nursing practice is always state-of-the-art and evidence based."
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