Amy Newman, a nurse practitioner in pediatric oncology at the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, has won an $18,789 nurse researcher grant from Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, a Pennsylvania-based nonprofit dedicated to fighting childhood cancer. Newman is also a doctoral student at Marquette University.
The nurse researcher grants, awarded since 2007, are intended to recognize the importance of investing in research that enables nurses to find better ways to care for children in treatment.
Newman’s Explorer Grant supports the efforts of beginning nurse researchers to accomplish small research projects with both mentor and institutional support. Newman specifically will focus on the experiences of pediatric oncology nurses with prognosis-related communication.
As part of her research, a nationwide survey of pediatric oncology nurses will be conducted that will aid in the development of interventions aimed at improving communication with parents of children with cancer.
“For the nearly seven years that my daughter Alex battled cancer, nurses played an integral role not only in her treatment, but in her quality of care and life,” said Liz Scott, Alex’s mom and co-executive director of Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation. “Nurses have a unique perspective into a young patient’s quality of care and perhaps most importantly quality of life. Through our nursing grants, we can enable nurses to use this knowledge to make a difference in the lives of children battling cancer.”
