American College of Critical Care Medicine inducts Fairfield University nursing professor

American College of Critical Care Medicine inducts Fairfield University nursing professor

Image: Carol Epstein Fairfield University School of Nursing Associate Professor Carol Epstein, Ph.D., RN, FCCM, was recently inducted as a Fellow into the prestigious American College of Critical Care Medicine during its Annual Scientific Congress in Orlando. Dr. Epstein was also selected as a Hartford Institute/AJN Geriatric Nursing Research Scholar for summer 2004.

The American College of Critical Medicine is part of the Chicago-based Society of Critical Care Medicine, the international organization for intensive care healthcare providers. The College honors a select group of people who have shown dedication to critical care, participated in the development of programs or systems related to critical care, made educational contributions in the area of critical care, and assumed leadership roles in professional organizations associated with critical care.

Dr. Epstein, a resident of Stratford, is one of fewer than a dozen nurses who have been inducted into the College. As a Fellow, she will review research proposals, serve on committees of the College, and make presentations on their research in critical care.

Dr. Epstein has also been chosen as a Hartford Institute/AJN Geriatric Nursing Research Scholar for summer 2004, which will enable her to attend a research seminar at New York University this July to study conceptual approaches to research methods related to older adults. In addition, the Graduate End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC), funded by the National Cancer Institute, will send Dr. Epstein to a three-day educational program to integrate end-of-life care issues - such as hospice, pain management, and quality-of-life concerns - into Fairfield University's graduate nursing program.

Dr. Epstein joined the faculty in the School of Nursing at Fairfield last fall. In addition to teaching a course in nursing research and medical-surgical nursing, she practices as a clinical instructor at Yale New Haven Hospital and will teach the critical care nursing course next year.

"Dr. Epstein has already proven a stellar addition to Fairfield University's nursing faculty. Her induction into the prestigious American College of Critical Care Medicine is further evidence of the strength of her work in critical care. We look forward to hearing her results from her education in the Hartford Institute and Graduate End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium programs," said Jeanne Novotny, Ph.D., dean of the School of Nursing.

Dr. Epstein had previously spent two undergraduate years at Fairfield. She holds a Bachelor's degree in English Literature from Cornell University, a BSN from Ursuline College, and Master's and Doctoral degrees from Case Western Reserve University in Ohio.

After 20 years as a critical care nurse, her most recent endeavor is focusing on her research on weaning the critically ill older adults from mechanical ventilation as soon as they are able. Dr. Epstein is working with Constantine Manthous, MD, Medical Director of medical intensive care at Bridgeport Hospital, to study test interventions that may enhance the process of weaning and improve patient outcomes.

"We're trying to add more science to the process of weaning," Dr. Epstein said. "Right now it's a lot of art."

Posted On: 04-20-2004 10:04 AM

Volume: 36 Number: 255