UIW Welcomes Internationally Renowned Scholar for Annual Lecture

Dr. Kristen Swanson set to deliver the Sr. Charles Marie Frank Lecture

San Antonio- September 13, 2024 - The Ila Faye Miller School of Nursing and Health Professions (SNHP) at the University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) is honored to welcome Kristen Swanson, PhD, RN, FAAN as this year's featured speaker for the annual Sr. Charles Marie Frank Endowed Lecture. Dr. Swanson will present a lecture entitled "Caring Matters and Healing Outcomes" at the UIW Rosenberg Sky Room on Thursday, October 3, 2024, at 4 p.m.

Swanson has had an illustrious career as an educator, scientist, administrator and consultant. Her scholarship and research, funded by the National Institutes of Health, focuses on caring, responses to miscarriage, interventions to promote healing after early pregnancy loss and leadership in healthcare. Swanson developed the Swanson Theory of Caring which is used as a model for practice, education and research around the world.

Throughout her career, Swanson has been deeply committed to patient care outcomes and the care and success of students. While Dean at Seattle University, she has embedded Jesuit values throughout the College of Nursing. During the height of COVID-19, Swanson played a pivotal leadership role in establishing the Swedish Community COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic at Seattle University. Over 75,000 vaccinations were administered as part of the clinic with one-fifth of the volunteers affiliated with Seattle University.

"I am thrilled to announce that the speaker invited to deliver this year's Sr. Charles Marie Frank Lecture is Dr. Kristen Swanson, an internationally renowned scholar, researcher, academic leader and mentor to many," says Dr. Danuta Wojnar, dean of the School of Nursing and Health Professions. "Dr. Swanson's research led to the development of caring theory, which is now widely used by various healthcare systems to guide clinical practice, research, and interpersonal relationships, leading to improved patient care outcomes. In her lecture, Dr. Swanson will address the impact of caring on healing. The SNHP faculty, staff and students look forward to hosting the UIW campus community, practice partners, alumni, faculty emeriti and other esteemed guests to hear Dr. Swanson speak and engage in conversation on caring matters."

Swanson completed her PhD at the University of Colorado School of Nursing where she recently received the Lifetime Achievement Award. She completed postdoctoral studies at the University of Washington where she remained on faculty for more than 20 years. Just prior to joining the Seattle University community in 2014, Swanson served as Dean and Alumni Distinguished Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Nursing and Associate Chief Nursing Officer for Academic Affairs at University of North Carolina Hospitals. She recently retired as Dean and Professor Emerita of Seattle University College of Nursing.

Swanson's many honors and contributions include selection as a Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Fellow, service on the Board of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, chairing the Board of Trustees for the Swedish Health System, induction into the Washington State Nurses Association Hall of Fame, membership on the National Advisory Council for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Nurse Faculty Scholars Program, and fellowship in the American Academy of Nursing.

The event's namesake, Sr. Charles Marie Frank, CCVI, was a Nursing trailblazer. The St. Louis-born Sister of Charity of the Incarnate Word earned a BSN degree in the late 1930's and she foresaw a day when the Bachelor of Science degree in nursing, with the RN, would become the standard for professional nursing. Sister Charles Marie was a pioneer in raising nursing in Texas from apprenticeship training to professional education by bringing the basic nursing program into the system of higher education at Incarnate Word College.

The Frank Lecture event will also feature a poster symposium beginning at 2:30 p.m.