Rebecca R. Hill

Rebecca R. Hill, DNP, MSN, FNP-C is the recipient of the 2019 M. Louise Fitzpatrick Nursing Scholarship Award. Rebecca earned her BSN from the University of Rhode Island in 2006, her MSN and post-master’s certificate in nursing education from Duke University in 2010 and her DNP from Duke University in 2013. Rebecca is a family nurse practitioner and certified as a nurse educator.

Currently pursuing her PhD in nursing at Boston College William F. Connell School of Nursing. Rebecca’s dissertation research is focused on symptoms of problematic feeding in infants with tongue-tie and the effect of these problems on the maternal-child relationship. Her current studies have been inspired by personal and professional experiences with this topic. As a mother, she has lived experiences with infant feeding challenges and continues to address these concerns in her practice roles. Rebecca is also a faculty member at the MGH Institute of Health Professions School of Nursing in Boston, Massachusetts, teaching at the pre-licensure level. Her clinical practice and educational achievements inform her role as an educator. She recently co-authored a first-edition pharmacology review text for nursing students preparing for the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX).

Rebecca is an active member of several professional organizations including the American Nurses Association (ANA), American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP), the National League for Nursing (NLN) and Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI), with past service as President of two chapters of STTI. Rebecca’s inspiration to pursue a career in nursing and nursing education is credited to the mentorship and passion displayed by her mother, a doctorally-prepared nurse who maintains clinical practice at the bedside following retirement from academia. Her mother’s love for the profession and commitment to patient care continues to serve as an impetus for Rebecca’s pursuit of advanced studies and knowledge development in nursing. It was the support and encouragement of her mother that motivated Rebecca to pursue her research doctorate, an endeavor she began in 2017.

Rebecca is a life-long learner who mentors peers and students, encouraging them to improve nursing care, advance nursing science, and advocate for the profession and those we care for. She maintains her clinical practice, teaching roles, and research studies while raising her three children alongside her husband Jonathan. Rebecca seeks to advance the state of the science surrounding tongue-tie and its associated sequalae on infant feeding. Her dissertation research will provide the foundation for a lifelong program of research to improve health care for mothers and their children.