Future Directions in Primary Care Research

Nurse Scholar

Of direct interest to the nursing community, AHRQ and the AAN have joined forces since 1995 to put a senior nurse scholar in place at the Agency to help AHRQ develop areas of investigation that integrate clinical nursing care questions with critical issues of quality, effectiveness, cost, and access to health care. Information on nominations for future senior nurse scholars is posted on the Agency Web site.

The first senior nurse scholar was Christine Kovner, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N., of the New York University Division of Nursing, selected in 1995. While at AHRQ, Dr. Kovner focused on the impact of nurse staffing on quality of care. She was succeeded in 1997 by Lorraine Tulman, D.N.Sc., R.N., F.A.A.N., of the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. During her stay at AHRQ, Dr. Tulman looked at the literature on controlled clinical trials in women that use functional status as an outcome measure. Subsequently, Linda Moody, Ph.D., F.A.A.N., of the University of South Florida served as the senior nurse scholar. While at AHRQ, she focused on avoidable adverse outcomes in cognitively impaired nursing home residents.

Our most recent senior nurse scholar, Sally Lusk, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N., of the University of Michigan, focused on issues related to primary care services and occupational health, particularly the prevention of noise-induced hearing loss. She also worked closely with the USPSTF and helped to develop a research agenda on worker health. In addition, nursing is represented on the Agency's National Advisory Council by Marita Titler, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N., Mary Katherine Wakefield, R.N., Ph.D., F.A.A.N., and Colleen Conway-Welch, Ph.D., C.N.M, F.A.A.N. To help improve the communications between AHRQ and the nursing community, the Agency has a nursing LISTSERV® and is developing a nursing page for its Web site.