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Advancing Palliative Care

Shereen Jonathan, Outstanding Scholar and fourth year nursing student, studies an important branch of nursing that is often overlooked in the research domain. Palliative care is concerned with the care for patients who are nearing the end of their life or are suffering from an untreatable disease. Nurses are often personally effected by their occupation, but nurses who work in palliative care are especially strained given the nature of their position. This absence motivatived Shereen Jonathan and her supervisor, Dr. Kathryn Pfaff, to focus their research on analyzing and bettering palliative care in the Windsor/Essex community.  

Together, they are researching what makes a palliative nurse most successful, and what it takes to be a leader in the field. They are also researching what can be done to help the mental health of nurses who work in palliative care. Shereen believes her work through the Outstanding Scholars program will help nurses and patient alike-but she has also experienced growth in the process. Shereen said, "I actually used to be very shy and introverted but that's changed so much now from presenting my work and talking to so many people."