Mary Catherine Forgea, MSN, RN, Patricia K. McGee Nursing Faculty Scholarship

• Hometown: Syracuse, NY
  
• Favorite Self-Care Activity: Listening to music
  
• Undergraduate Education: Le Moyne College & St. Joseph’s College of Nursing
  
• Current Program: PhD in Nursing

I chose UB School of Nursing for my graduate education because of its reputation and accessibility. The program allows you to attend and participate from a distance, which is convenient for those of us who live outside of the Buffalo area. I also like the blended format, where some courses are live with an in-class option and others are fully online. Although there are many students learning from a distance, the program still makes us feel like we’re part of a community, which is unique. 

My areas of interest are stroke patients, music therapy and stroke rehabilitation. I worked with stroke patients for many years in a variety of nursing roles before taking the faculty position I am in now. I loved working with and caring for stroke patients and am interested in how I can help improve their recovery process. I am currently planning my dissertation, which will focus on and the rehabilitation process for stroke patients. 

I would like to continue to grow in my faculty role and gain more experience in conducting research and writing publishable manuscripts. This past spring, I had a manuscript accepted for publication for the first time, which was very exciting. I love being able to share what I’ve learned with others who are also interested in improving patient care and outcomes.

I am very passionate about education and nursing science. Through my education and experience, I hope to continue to improve my skills as an educator. As a lifelong learner, I look forward to learning and growing in my role because it will make me a more effective educator for my students. After achieving my PhD degree, I plan to expand on my dissertation study using the data we collect and analyze. My goal is to discover new knowledge and interprofessional interventions that will benefit stroke survivors during their recovery process. I would love to incorporate music as an intervention in a future study as well!

This scholarship will help fund my education so I can continue to push forward and work on my dissertation and toward degree completion. I am honored to be chosen for this scholarship and so thankful. As a full-time faculty member and new mom, this scholarship reduces the financial burden and stress of the doctoral program.