Nursing

Assembly Chair
Lisa Cicutto, RN, PhD

Welcome to the Nursing Assembly website. The Nursing Assembly has more than 200 international members, which includes specialists in pediatrics, gerontology, pulmonology, allergy, sleep, home care, telehealth, health information technology, psychology, rehabilitation, education, occupational health and critical care.  We are researchers, clinicians, and educators who practice worldwide across a variety of settings brought together by our common interests of improving the respiratory health of patient, families and communities through research, practice, education and training, and advocacy.

Scientific and clinical interests of the membership are diverse and span the life continuum.  Interests and activities traverse the care continuum of health promotion and disease prevention to management of chronic disease to end of life planning and care.  Throughout our work there is an emphasis on quality of care and implementation of the best available evidence, always with a focus on advancing respiratory health. The research of our members encompasses the translational T1 to T4 spectrum of bench to community to policy research. Areas of interests in health promotion and disease prevention include reducing the risks of respiratory disease associated with health disparities, tobacco use, and work-related exposures. Areas of interest related to the management of chronic respiratory disease includes disease self-management, symptom perceptions and experiences, clustered co-morbidities and concordance between patients/families and health providers regarding therapeutic approaches with an emphasis on improving functional status, health-related quality of life, and associated morbidities. 

There are several ATS projects that Nursing Assembly members either lead or serve on, lending both clinical and scientific expertise. Examples of a few projects include Palliative Management of Dyspnea Crisis.  This working group has been funded since 2009 and is co-sponsored with BSA.   Virginia Carrieri-Kohlman and Lynn Reinke serve as co-chairs. The overall goal of this project is to prepare a report regarding dyspnea crisis management for patients and family members near the end of life.  This includes risk assessment, clinical management, ethical issues and health care coordination and utilization. Additionally, we aim to develop innovative patient and family educational products.

The assembly on Environmental and Occuptional Health has a project on Respiratory Impairment and Disability.  This project’s main goal is to update and expand the 1993 statement on the Evaluation of Impairment/Disability of Patients with Asthma. Julie Roberts from UCSF lends her expertise to this project.

The workshop on Ethical & Policy Considerations in donation after Circulatory Determination of Death is sponsored by the Clinical Problems Assmebly. This is a very important topic for patients on transplant lists.  Lung transplant investigator Annette DeVito-Dabbs from the University of Pittsburgh serves on this committee.

The Behavioral Science Assembly is completing a Pay for Performance in Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine project. This project is developing a policy statement on existing literature and defining the research agenda for health policy on P4P issues.  Kathleen Lindell, University of Pittsburgh respresents the Nursing Assembly.

Leaders from various committees are in the process of composing a working group to update the 20 year old ATS document on withdrawal of ventilatory support.  This working group will address various aspects of ventlation withdrawal with a focus on ethical issues.

If any one has interest in participating in committee work, please let us know.  This type of involvement in ATS serves not only as a learning experience but is fun.  It also increases the visiblity and talent of our members, leads to rewarding networking and future opportunities.

While many members of the assembly are nurses, membership is NOT restricted to those trained as nurses. Doctorally prepared (PhD or professional doctorate) members pay full dues.  There is an ATS membership category available for members that are not doctorally prepared and is ideal for advanced practice nurses. This reduced fee provides all membership privileges except receipt of mailed journals. For nurses without a baccalaureate degree who have an interest in the activities of the Society, there is an affiliate membership category. However, affiliates are not permitted to vote or hold office.

We welcome all respiratory health professionals and researchers who share the interests of the Nursing Assembly. As an ATS member, you can choose the Nursing Assembly as your primary assembly, or as a secondary assembly. You can designate up to two secondary assemblies, and there is no additional cost for adding a secondary assembly.

The Executive Committee for the Nursing Assembly includes:

Thank you for your interest in the Nursing Assembly. We look forward to an exciting future and encourage your participation. For more information about the Assembly contact us at nur@thoracic.org.