Brock’s inaugural Nursing Research Speaker Series debuts this month with a free community lecture by accomplished nursing scholar Sally Thorne.

The Professor Emeritus at the University of British Columbia’s School of Nursing will discuss an applied qualitative methodology she developed known as interpretive description, why it’s needed and how it can be used in clinical settings.

“Dr. Thorne’s lecture will highlight the value of interpretive description as an applied qualitative method for complex and pressing health questions,” said Valerie Michaelson, Assistant Professor from the Department of Health Sciences.

Thorne will offer insights from her research in the field of medical assistance in dying from the perspective of Canadian nurses and nurse practitioners.

Her lecture on Wednesday, Oct. 18 is the first in a new Nursing Research Speaker Series created by the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences and the Department of Nursing Research Committee to bring more attention to the innovative and applicable research happening within the nursing discipline.

“There is a tremendous amount of research that takes place by nurse scientists that unfortunately does not receive the wide attention it deserves,” said Sheila O’Keefe-McCarthy, Associate Professor of Nursing and Chair for the Department of Nursing Research Committee. “Over the past year, we’ve developed a committee to help foster research relationships and showcase our research and the growing number of nursing scholars. We are thrilled to have world-renowned nursing researcher Dr. Sally Thorne kick off our inaugural speaker series.”

Thorne’s research career has been in the field of patient experience in chronic illness and cancer, with more recent emphasis on end-of-life suffering and medical assistance in dying. In both contexts, her focus has been the intersection between the attitudes and structures that shape health-care services and the human experience on the receiving end of care.

In addition to her published research, Thorne is the author of a body of work on nursing theory and philosophy, professional leadership and applied qualitative methodology, including the text Interpretive Description: Qualitative Research for Applied Practice.

She is Editor-in-Chief for the journal Nursing Inquiry and serves on numerous editorial and non-profit health sector boards.

Thorne is a Charter Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Nursing and a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences and the American Academy of Nursing. She was inducted into the Sigma Theta Tau International Nursing Hall of Fame in 2017, was recognized by the Canadian Nurses Association with its Jeanne Mance Award in 2018 and was appointed member of the Order of Canada this year.

Thorne’s lecture is open to anyone in the Brock University community and wider Niagara region.

Who: Conversations with Sally Thorne, Professor Emeritus at the University of British Columbia’s School of Nursing.
What: Interpretive Description as Applied Methodology: Making Our Qualitative Studies Matter — The inaugural lecture of the Nursing Research Speaker Series. Reception to follow.
When: Wednesday, Oct. 18 from 7:30 p.m.
Where: Pond Inlet, Brock University.
RSVP: Register for free online to reserve a seat.