I began my nursing career working primarily in pediatric and adult intensive care units, but after ten years I was beset by doubts. Was nursing really what I wanted to do? I loved my patients but detested how often they and their loved ones were ignored or discounted when difficult decisions had to be made. I took time off to mother three children and explore other interests, but I also continued to work as a nurse educator, patient advocate and volunteer nurse in Kansas City and Haiti.

At the age of forty, I enrolled in a philosophy course at the University of Missouri in Kansas City, where I discovered the field of healthcare ethics, which not only encourages but demands the involvement of patients and families in healthcare decisions. After obtaining a degree in philosophy, I decided to add a master’s degree in Bioethics and Healthcare Policy from Loyola of Chicago to my nursing credentials.

I have served as adjunct faculty at the University of Missouri – Kansas City and Rockhurst University in Kansas City, MO. I enjoy speaking at various civic and community workshops on topics related to healthcare and ethics. My colleagues and friends at the Center for Practical Bioethics have a special place in my heart; they helped fire my imagination and trusted me in the journey.

My physician husband David, and I live in Kansas City, Missouri. We and our three grown children – Cameron, Libby, and Maggie – consider ourselves to be a medical family. David and I also share a passion for golf, so if you don’t find me working in Kansas City or golfing in the hill country of Texas, I’m probably visiting and playing with my grandchildren and best buddies: Ella Rose, Henry, Winnie or baby Mabel.