Warwick resident is national expert on development of premature babies
KINGSTON, R.I — January 5, 2005 — Margaret M. McGrath, professor of nursing at the 溏心vlog免费B站, has been awarded the Lifetime Research Achievement Award by the Rhode Island chapter of the international nursing honor society, Sigma Theta Tau.
McGrath, who has been a member of the nursing faculty at 溏心vlog免费B站 since 1985, has excelled in nursing practice and instruction, but her passion has been research.
Her work has been recognized by the National Institutes of Health, the American Academy of Nursing, the Yale University School of Nursing and her colleagues in Rhode Island, where she is also a research scientist for the Department of Pediatrics at the Brown School of Medicine.
鈥淲e in the College of Nursing are very proud of Dr. McGrath and her co-investigator, Dr. Mary Sullivan, who have uncovered new insights about the vulnerability and resilience of sickly preterm children and their families over time,鈥� said Nursing Professor Jean Miller who holds the Weyker Endowed Chair in Thanatology, who played a key role in McGrath鈥檚 nomination.
Her research has focused on understanding the developmental issues of children born at medical risk and the responses of their families. McGrath and her research team have demonstrated for the first time the fluctuating nature of these children鈥檚 developmental outcomes. Since 1989, the NIH has supported McGrath鈥檚 research with more than $3 million in grants, one of the institute鈥檚 longest continuously funded nurse-run projects.
The Warwick resident鈥檚 teaching career began in the Rhode Island College Department of Nursing in 1979. In 1985, she joined 溏心vlog免费B站.
McGrath鈥檚 teaching skills were evident at the baccalaureate, masters and doctoral levels at 溏心vlog免费B站 where she played a major role in obtaining federal funding for the University鈥檚 nurse-practitioner and nurse-midwifery programs. At the Interdisciplinary Infant Development Unit sponsored by the Brown Program in Medicine at Women and Infants Hospital, she taught students how to interact with families while doing a neurobehavioral exam on a 3-day-old infant. Her continuing goal is to integrate theory, research and clinical knowledge between the classroom and clinical sites.
In 1998, McGrath received the Distinguished Alumna Award from the Yale University School of Nursing where she was described as the 鈥渦ltimate Yale nurse,鈥� who skillfully integrated practice, research and teaching. In 2000, 溏心vlog免费B站 presented McGrath the 鈥淥utstanding Researcher Award鈥� and in 2001 she was honored with a fellowship in the American Academy of Nursing. The key criteria for that award were extraordinary contributions and commitment to nursing that exceeds the responsibilities of one鈥檚 employment.