During my healthcare career, the most satisfying moments always seem to be the simple moments…a simple thank you for making someone more comfortable, a simple smile for explaining a patient’s medication schedule or a simple hug for making a patient less afraid. As I grow into this profession, a profession increasingly complicated by chronic disease, new medications, and new technology, my goals remain very simple. I want to help the underserved. I want to educate the community. I want to prevent disease.

Her current studies are inspired by her ongoing clinical work in neonatal intensive care as well as her time as a bioethics fellow and clinical ethics consultant at Montefiore Medical Center (Bronx, NY), where she worked with patients, families and clinicians to resolve morally complex health care issues.

Her research focuses on the decision-making processes of parents with critically ill children and explores factors, such as spiritual/religious beliefs, that affect parent decision making in the critical care environment. Melissa enjoys writing and teaching and is dedicated to providing nurses with the knowledge and skills they need to provide ethical care to patients and their families.