Rebecca Piasecki

Rebecca J. Piasecki is the recipient of the Philip D. Raso Scholarship. She is currently a doctoral candidate in the PhD program at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing.

A native of the Metro Detroit area, she earned her Bachelor of Science in Human Biology (2010) and Bachelor of Arts in English (2011) from Michigan State University. While attending MSU, she developed a passion for research while working as a student research assistant in laboratories researching the biochemistry, biology, and pathophysiology of plants. She also discovered her passion for nursing as a student volunteer in the emergency department of a Level 1 Trauma Center in Lansing. As a volunteer, Rebecca was constantly impressed with the knowledge, grace, and compassion displayed by the emergency department nurses during patient emergencies.

After graduating from MSU, Rebecca attended the University of Michigan, where she matriculated in its accelerated nursing program and earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing (2012). Rebecca has extensive experience as a critical care nurse, having worked primarily in emergency departments and intensive care units in the Metro Detroit area. While working as a bedside nurse, Rebecca also gained experience as a responding member of medical emergency teams (METs), which are teams of healthcare professionals who help improve inpatient outcomes by facilitating early detection and rapid interventions for acutely deteriorating patients. These clinical experiences inspired her to pursue a research career in this area of nursing and patient care, and inform her research questions and approach.

Rebecca’s dissertation will examine the patterns of the signs and symptoms of clinical deterioration, and characterize how those patterns relate to patient characteristics, hospital characteristics, and patient outcomes following MET events. Her work will inform future MET research, and will help guide the education and professional training of nurses and other clinicians who work with METs in their clinical practices. This research also will increase our knowledge of patients and healthcare settings that are most vulnerable to “missed” recognition of clinical deterioration. After graduating, Rebecca plans to use her education and experience to work as a nurse scientist who is well-versed in using health systems and services concepts, data, and research methods to improve patient outcomes, with a focus on METs and resuscitation practices.