2004 Nurse Scholar – Veronica D. Feeg, PhD, RN, FAAN
| Veronica D. Feeg, PhD, RN, FAAN, Professor in the College of Nursing and Health Science (CNHS) at George Mason University, has been selected as the 2004-2005 Institute of Medicine (IOM) Senior Nurse Scholar-in-Residence at the National Academy of Sciences, sponsored by the American Academy of Nursing (AAN) and American Nurses Foundation (ANF). Dr. Feeg will spend the year at the IOM participating in projects and activities related to her pediatric research interests and focusing on health policy issues that affect children and families.Dr. Feeg received her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Villanova University, her master’s degree in nursing from New York University, and her Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies from The Pennsylvania State University. She is Professor of Nursing and Health Science at George Mason University and recently directed the doctoral program in nursing. Over the 24 years at Mason, in keeping with her interests in interdisciplinary work, she has participated in several major interdisciplinary programs including PAGE (Program for Alternative General Education) and New Century College (NCC) where she blended her technology expertise with health related matters.She was Associate Director of the Instructional Development Office (IDO) in 1995, the university’s first instructional computer environment for faculty, and initiated several educational information technology projects. In addition to her academic positions, she is also the editor of Pediatric Nursing, a clinical and research journal with over 8,000 subscribers, and has served as editorial board chairman for over 18 years.Dr. Feeg’s doctoral education and dissertation were funded by the Department of Health Education and Welfare, as part of Pre-PAIR (Pre-Doctoral Preparation in Applied Interdisciplinary Research), where she developed conceptual models that crossed professional boundaries with colleagues from a variety of disciplines. She cultivated additional expertise in information technology and connected her clinical roots in pediatrics and child health with her proficiencies in several software applications to integrate her research interests related to decision support systems and children with special health care needs.
She co-edited the Core Curriculum and Resource Manual for Pediatric Nursing (1991) and the Self-Assessment Color Reviews in Pediatric Nursing (2000), and has authored, co-authored or edited numerous articles, book chapters and monographs. As journal editor, she has published over 100 bi-monthly editorials, many of which focused on policy matters in children’s health, and she has consulted and served as advisor, speaker, or reviewer to a variety of professional organizations and institutions connected to pediatrics and nursing including the American College of Nurse Midwives, Society of Pediatric Nursing, Georgetown Child Development Center, Bureau of Maternal-Child Health, Children’s National Medical Center, Washington DC Hospital for Sick Children, Inova Hospital for Children, Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Easter Seals of Virginia. She organized and chaired several annual Pediatric Nursing conferences, and brokered a technology-enhanced conference summit of leaders in nursing, publishing the monograph: Forum on the Future of Pediatric Nursing (1988). She organized and chaired the International Pediatric Nursing Conference for Canada’s Child Health 2000, a multinational pediatric health and policy conference in Vancouver, B.C. in 1995. She served as a member of the Scientific Review Board of Children’s Hospice International, and chaired the development of their Standards of Children’s Hospice Care, in addition to several research reports of their annual surveys on the state of pediatric palliative care. Dr. Feeg has been recommended to serve on several boards, panels, committees and councils that cross disciplines with interests in children. In 1999, she participated in the NRC/IOM, Board on Children, Youth and Families “Workshop on the Science of Development Promotion and Early Childhood Intervention,” Washington D.C. She co-authored a book chapter for the Children’s Hospice International second edition publication, Children’s Hospice Care (2001), focusing on nursing care of the child with life limiting illness. She served as interim chairperson of the Northern Virginia Coalition to Improve End-of-life Care, and became the first president of its emerging non-profit organization, SOLACE (Supporters of Life-Affirming Care at End-of-Life) in 2001. Her interests in end-of-life care, with a particular focus on pediatric palliative care, has formed the basis of her teaching, scholarship and research related to parent-professional shared decision making and technology aided decisions in end-of-life decision-making. These pursuits will serve as the core work of her IOM Scholar-in-Residence projects. Dr. Feeg was inducted in the American Academy of Nursing (AAN) in 1991 and served as co-chair of the Expert Panel on Children and Families, 1996-1997. From that role, she represented children’s issues in general sessions of the annual meeting of the AAN as “debater” (1996) and “rapporteur” (1998). She has been a member of Sigma Theta Tau International, Epsilon Zeta Chapter, winning their award for service in 1997 for her years of chairing and expanding the research committee. She received the Villanova University Alumni Medallion for distinguished contributions to the profession, and a “Brooke Award” from Jannetti Publications, Inc., as special recognition for her dedication, service, and contributions to Pediatric Nursing. |