Colleen McGauley

Colleen McGauley is the recipient of a “Nurses Educational Funds, Inc. Scholarship” for the 2018-2019 academic year. She received her bachelors in nursing and minor in Hispanic Studies from Boston College in 2015. Colleen currently attends Boston College as a master’s student in the Family Nurse Practitioner program. While attending graduate school, she works as a registered nurse in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) at the Massachusetts General Hospital, where she delivers high-quality, evidence-based, family-centered care. Colleen serves as the co-chair of the Evidence-Based Practice PICU Committee, which develops quality improvement initiatives and standardizes practice guidelines for PICU nurses through research. In addition, she is a member of the Biothreats Committee, which coordinates Ebola response efforts and drills for the MGH community. She hopes to incorporate her experience as a bedside nurse, caring for critically ill children and their families, into her practice as a primary care family nurse practitioner.

Colleen has a passion for lifelong learning and research. She hopes to continue to pursue higher education after completing her master’s degree. She has served as a research assistant for Dr. Lichuan Ye at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital collecting data on the sleep habits of hospitalized cardiac patients. Currently, she works as a graduate research assistant for Dr. Andrew Dwyer studying safe and effective transitional care models for adolescent patients with chronic endocrine disorders. She has presented this work at the Sigma Theta Tau Research Day at Boston College and the Pediatric Endocrinology Nursing Society Conference. In addition, Colleen works with undergraduate senior nursing students as a teaching assistant. She assists in grading papers, presenting lectures, and advising students.

Colleen has an interest in Global Health and working in community settings. She attended the Global Health Nursing Conference as a Johnson and Johnson Nursing Caucus Scholarship recipient. She has also attended global health trips in Lourdes, France and Managua, Nicaragua. She will complete a portion of her clinical hours in Haiti in Fall 2018. As a future family nurse practitioner, she hopes to advocate for preventative and primary care services in local and international settings.

Colleen hopes to continue to grow as a leader and provider. She believes firmly that nurses should serve as key change agents and prominent leaders within the healthcare system. She joined international leaders in patient safety, informatics, health science education, and physicians at the “Academy For Emerging Leaders in Patient Safety: The Telluride Experience” to address important safety issues within the healthcare system.

From a very young age, Colleen knew that she wanted to have a career that focused on cared for others using science, compassion, and a patient-centered approach. Through her personal experiences with loved ones who have been ill, she has seen firsthand the wonderful benefits of nursing. She is proud and honored to be a part of this profession and pursue her passion each and every day.