Expanded independent consulting service to a National Firm which offers 3 distinctively separate consulting services: The Patient Information and Education Service, which focuses on strengthening the physician/patient relationship and empowering patients in their health care; Clinical Medical Ethics On-Site Education Service, which offers formal education and consultation to multidisciplinary hospital staffs of physicians, nurses, medical students, therapists and social workers as they struggle to “do the right thing” for patients at the bedside; and Medical Legal Consultation Service, which provides medical legal consultation to attorneys, both plaintiff and defense.

Brought specialized education and clinical expertise to the medically related issues of the legal process.

Worked in collaboration with attorneys by evaluating, analyzing and rendering informed opinions on the delivery of health care and the resulting outcomes.

Acted as collaborator, educator and strategist, offering support in medically-related litigation and other medical-legal matters

Developed and Coordinated the Integrated Ethics Program at the U of C, which was designed to promote the field of Clinical Medical Ethics across the continuum of medical education. The goal of the program is to coordinate outreach in clinical ethics education primarily directed toward medical students and medical residents but intentionally including a multidisciplinary mix of physicians, nurses, social workers, therapists, chaplains and any others who directly impact on patient care, in both inpatient and outpatient settings.

Served as a resource, educator, mentor for all health care providers, including physicians and medical students as they addressed medical ethical issues at the bedside, in daily practice. This included participating in multidisciplinary rounds on adult, pediatric and neonatal intensive care units on a daily basis.

Assisted the clinician in identifying medical issues that may be inhibiting clinical problem resolutions. Once those issues were addressed/resolved, facilitated the ethics consultation process with the clinician when appropriate.

Provided ethics consultation to patients and family members.

Facilitated and provided mediation among health care team members and between health care team members and patients/families.

Met the educational needs of Multidisciplinary Staff by developing and conducting various opportunities for Multidisciplinary Clinical Medical Ethics education for the patient’s health care team, in the inpatient and outpatient settings, at the U of C Hospitals as well as neighboring hospitals and home heal care agencies.

Chaired the committee which reviews and develops U of C Standards regarding “Patient Rights and Organizational Ethics” in preparation and compliance with JCAHO Standards. Served as a consultant to other hospitals as they prepared to meet these JCAHO standards.

Worked side by side with Pediatricians from Children’s Memorial Hospital in large private practice providing quality patient care, triage, immunizations, education and nursing consultation to children and families.

Developed, implemented an in-house Registry and Incentive program to increase staffing resources.

Analyzed and guided the clinical practice of a multidisciplinary staff, mentoring, teaching and supporting them on a daily, on-going basis.

Managed, evaluated the clinical performance of Resource Team nurses.

Assisted in broadening practice and supported growth and development of professional nurses, by chairing the committee that assessed the behaviors of the Clinical Ladder.

Worked as a liaison between major departments, coordinating activities and providing problem resolutions regarding staffing, education, and medical support for this 750 bed Medical Center. Provided patient and family support. Public relations.

Managed staff development, coordination of educational programs, medical support, and problem solving for this 56 bed medical facility.

Responsible for indirect management of nursing staff including counseling and performance evaluation. Assisted in hiring.

Planned and coordinated major educational programs for medical staff, patients, and general public.

Analyzed general operations and implemented appropriate programs to improve staff development, patient servicing, education, and operations efficiency.

Additionally: extensive presentation and program development; interviewed and assisted in hiring; patient and family support; public relations.

Working primarily in pediatric, neonatal, and intensive care units, provided quality patient care with emphasis on pediatric oncology, cystic fibrosis, and trauma. Coordinated Pediatric Trauma Response Team.

As Charge Nurse, supervised a medical staff of 10-15 per shift. Oriented and trained new nurses. Coordinated patient care as primary nurse. Provided extensive patient/family education.

Supervised and ensured nursing staff was providing quality home health care to patients. Supervised and evaluated staff. Coordinated schedules. Also was involved in new program development.

Worked on adult medical, surgical, and intensive care units, providing quality patient care and assessment services. Full time Charge Nurse.

Presented talks on various topics in Medical Ethics for the Chicago Bar Association, American Network of Home Health Care Social Workers, American Society of Intensive Care Nurses, Cranio-Facial Research Physicians, Oncology Nurses Society, Northwestern University Medical School Annual Chicago Conference, and to the Polish, Hungarian, and Czechoslovakian Medical Associations, among many others.

Participated in the Development of the Mentoring program at the University of Chicago Hospitals. Participated as a Mentor to nurses, physicians and medical students.

Developed a Clinical Medical Ethics Critical Pathway which can be used to enhance conventional Critical Pathways.

Developed a program for Critical Thinking, utilized in the Mentoring Program at the University of Chicago Hospitals.

Participated in a documentary about the Medical Ethics Program at the University of Chicago MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics, which aired on Dateline, NBC.

Certification for Legal Nurse Consulting (LNCC)
Currently completing LNC certification through distance education networking at Canyon College-affiliated with the American College of Legal Nurse Consultants (ACLN) in Caldwell, Idaho, a division of the American Institute of Health Care Professionals and through the American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants (AALNC);

Completed post doctoral fellowship in Clinical Medical Ethics
University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics- Chicago, Illinois

Master of Science Degree: Health Law and Public Policy
Close to completion at this time. DePaul University, Chicago, Illinois

Bachelor of Science Degree: Nursing Emphasis: Professional Communication
Graduate, Alverno College - Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Associate Degree: Nursing
Graduate, Triton College - River Grove, Illinois

Participated as a member of the Advisory Committee for the Family Options Project, which is a federal, comprehensive permanency planning project for HIV-infected families in Chicago/Cook County. Provided guidance to the Family Options Project in terms of its policy and practice. Served as a resource and consultant in: the identification of appropriate clients within the context of the family/extended family, identification of appropriate decision-makers for a child in making best interest decisions, balancing a child’s best interest with the family’s ability to self-determine a plan, and appropriate permanency planning for families who have no one to rely on for the future care of their children.

Ambassador to Eastern European countries of Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Poland. Participated with members of the countries’ medical association in discussions around such issues as Patient Rights, Do Not Resuscitate, Advance Directives, Truth Telling, Information Disclosure, Medical Ethics Education, Euthanasia, Ethics in Research, Medical Futility, Managed Care, and Organ Transplantation, among others.

Participated on Capital Hill in Washington DC in a nation-wide initiative to build an innovative ethics program which provided the American Hospital Association (AHA) with access to tools, training and resources which will equip their organizations to make the best ethical decisions possible in responding to community health care systems as well as business demands nation wide. Other members of this national committee included representatives from the Whitman-Walker Clinic, Center for Community Nonviolence, Marriott Corporation and Johnson and Johnson as well as several prominent physicians, activist group leaders and community officials.

Completed a seminar/learning experience program through DePaul University. Traveled throughout Europe with panel discussions in London, England. Compared European medical care with that of the United States. Received training and observed midwifery, child psychology, and various disciplines of acute medicine.

Developed Clinical Medical Ethics criteria for the DePaul University School for New Learning, Master of Arts in Hospital Administration program, Chicago, Illinois. Served as Mentor in Medical Ethics to Masters students in this program.

Provided and facilitated learning opportunities in medical ethics for graduate students from various colleges and universities, locally to world wide, including China and the Dominican Republic.

Worked as a volunteer Camp Nurse for a Cystic Fibrosis Camp in Gurnee, Illinois. Handled medical problems and developed physical activities/programs to assist in the physical and emotional development of children.

Participated in Clinical Outreach Program in Puerto Rico, designed to examine children from surrounding 3rd world countries, afflicted with birth defects and war injuries, then assisted in arranging their and their parent(s) transfer to Shriners Children’s Hospital in Chicago for corrective/reconstructive orthopedic surgery and rehabilitation.

Articles

Nursing Spectrum and The Tablet
“Clinical Medical Ethics: A Nurse’s Role”
“Oh, No: The Patient Wants To Read His Chart”
“Tag Team Approach To Giving Immunizations: Ethical Implications”
“Patient Confidentiality” among others.

Topics in Stroke Rehabilitation
“Doing the Right Thing: Consequences for Health Care Team Members”, Winter (1998)

Journal of Nursing Administration (JONA)
“When Surrogate Decision-Making Is Not Straight Forward: Guidelines for Nurse Administrators”, June (2001).

Choices
“Consent By Minors For Medical Procedures”, Winter (2001)
“Communication: A Key To A Healthy Doctor/Patient Relationship”, Winter (2002)
And More.

Book Chapters

Ethics In Home Health Care: Creating Ethics Committees (in publication process),
“Abuse and Neglect” and
“Non-Compliance.”

Ethical Issues and Patient Rights: Across The Continuum of Care, JCAHO (1998).
Contributing author. Features the Integrated Ethics Program Initiative.

Associate, American Bar Association
American Society of Law, Medicine, and Ethics
Hastings Center
People to People Ambassador Program, U. S. Ambassador for Medical Ethics
American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants (AALNC)
American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants (AALNC) – Chicago Chapter
Women’s Council of the Brain Research Foundation University of Chicago – Vice President and Program Chairman
Harrington Institute of Design, Chicago – Alumni Board of Director

Who's Who Among Human Services Professionals – 1988-1989
Who's Who in America – 2006