Professor Ann Marie McCarthy, PhD, RN, PNP, FAAN, associate dean for research and scholarship, has been selected as the featured speaker for an upcoming National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) Director’s Lecture series.

Dr. McCarthy’s presentation, “Distraction in Action: Helping Children Cope with Painful Procedure,” will take place September 25 on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Campus in Bethesda, Maryland.

“Our research has allowed us to test distraction as an intervention to help children during painful procedures. Currently we have developed a web-based app that includes a predictive model to identify a child’s risk for distress and to provide tailored interventions, which are often provided by parents,” explained Dr. McCarthy. “Having a child leave a clinic visit talking about playing Easy Bake Oven on our iPad app instead of crying about a painful IV insertion is very rewarding.”

The NINR Director’s Lecture series is designed to bring the nation’s top nurse scientists to the NIH campus to share their work and interests with a transdisciplinary audience. During the presentation, Dr. McCarthy will be elaborating on her research involving children with chronic health conditions. Following the lecture, audience members will be invited to participate in a question and answer session with Dr. McCarthy.

“This is a very prestigious lecture and it is a great honor to have Ann Marie representing the University of Iowa,” noted Dean Julie Zerwic.  

This event is free and open to the public. The event will not be webcast, but it will be available on YouTube a few weeks following the lecture. Visit NINR’s website for more information.

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