Profiling the Elizabeth Dickson KT Fellowship Supplement Awardees

As the highest ranked candidate in the fellowship competition to which they applied, the following outstanding individuals were awarded the Elizabeth Dickson KT Fellowship Supplement:

2008

Susan Slaughter

Location: School of Nursing, University of Alberta
Supervisor: Dr. Carole Anne Estabrooks

During the first half of her career as a Clinical Nurse Specialist in gerontology, Susan Slaughter’s research and nursing practice focused on enhancing the function of frail older adults in geriatric rehabilitation and acute care settings. She generated new knowledge in her research role and engaged in knowledge translation (KT) in her clinical consultation and education roles in the areas of pain, mobility and falls, function in activities of daily living, and collaboration with family caregivers.

In 1997 when she began to work in the long term care sector, Ms. Slaughter’s practice and research shifted from improving functional ability to optimizing the quality of life for nursing home residents. She generated new knowledge and engaged in KT in the areas of sleep, wound care, therapeutic environments, and challenging behaviour associated with dementia.

In 2003 her career goals shifted to an increased emphasis on research. That is when she began part time employment as a Senior Research Associate with the CIHR/Alzheimer Society of Canada funded Dementia New Emerging Team and shortly thereafter commenced doctoral studies. Her dissertation entitled “Incidence and predictors of excess disability among nursing home residents with middle-stage dementia: A prospective cohort study of functional transitions,” built on her clinical practice with nursing home residents experiencing transitions associated with dementia, and with geriatric rehabilitation patients experiencing functional loss.

Ms. Slaughter’s postdoctoral fellowship will be situated within the Translating Research in Elder Care (TREC) research program led by her mentor, Dr. Carole Estabrooks. During this fellowship, she will undertake a pilot study to develop a mobility intervention targeting nursing home care providers. The formative evaluation of this intervention will identify factors that influence the progress and effectiveness of the intervention. This postdoctoral research project is the next logical step in her program of research and will lead to the development of an operating grant for a full scale project.