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Nursing Professor Joins Research Project

Vanessa Wright
Dr. Vanessa Wright

A nursing professor in Oklahoma City University’s Kramer School of Nursing and Watson Caring Science Postdoctoral Scholar was named the lead principle investigator of an international research project through Watson Caring Science Institute (WCSI) and The DAISY Foundation.

Dr. Vanessa Wright, associate professor and master’s degree program coordinator for the Kramer School of Nursing, was selected by Dr. Jean Watson based on her involvement with WCSI and dedication to excellence in the change to discipline of nursing. The goal of the project is to use a qualitative method of nursing theory-guided inquiry of DAISY Award nomination stories that express gratitude and describe extraordinary compassionate nursing care to further validate the Processes within the Theory of Human Caring.

Wright will team up with co-investigators Watson, founder of WCSI and author of “Theory of Human Caring and Caring Science”; Cynthia D. Sweeney, vice president for nursing and researcher for The DAISY Foundation; and Marian Turkel, a WCSI faculty member and postgraduate scholar.

The DAISY Foundation was established to honor the founder’s son for the extraordinary compassionate care he received from nurses. The DAISY Award is a recognition program for nurses in more than 4,500 health care systems in all 50 U.S. states and 24 countries.

Given the current situation with the COVID-19 pandemic, many nurses report feeling increasing physical and emotional stress while providing direct patient care. Registered nurses will benefit from reading the stories of their colleagues and identifying behaviors that underscore human caring to improve their nursing practice.

Wright holds a Ph.D. in nursing from OCU and has been a nursing educator since 2012, teaching students in both the undergraduate and graduate programs. She is passionate about continuing to produce nursing research grounded in Watson’s Theory of Human Caring and Unitary Caring Science.

WCSI is dedicated to helping the current health care system retain its most precious resource – competent, caring professional nurses – while preparing a new generation of health professionals in a broader model of caring science. OCU Kramer School of Nursing shares in this commitment to nursing excellence.

To learn more about the award and submit stories of exceptional, compassionate nursing care to DAISY, visit daisyfoundation.org/daisy-award.


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