DUSON Student Spotlight highlights the diverse background of our nursing students and their personal stories of dedication, leadership, perseverance and academic or community achievements.

DUSON shines a spotlight on DNP student Michelle King from Dallas, Texas. King graduated this May.

Q: What would people be surprised to know about you?

A: Anyone who knew me prior to entering the DNP program would tell you that I have a strong distaste for anything related to politics. However, Duke's DNP program has made the unthinkable happen: I now really enjoy politics. Since taking the course entitled N962 Transforming the Nation's Health, I find myself excited over the current political debates, further educating myself on relevant health policies, and writing about health bills in Op-Eds to be published in my local newspaper. While Duke showed me how to transform the nation's health, it surprisingly transformed me in the process.

Q: What is a cause you're passionate about?

A: As I have experienced tremendous growth during my doctoral studies at Duke, I have made several realizations, including that of my interest in health policy. One of the causes I have found myself ready to tackle is our nation's current lack of FDA regulation of electronic cigarettes and the product's associated advertising that targets children. As a dual-certified primary care and acute care pediatric nurse practitioner working within a pediatric pulmonary unit, I feel a duty to advocate for our vulnerable children. That being said, I wrote an Op-Ed to my local newspaper about the S.430 bill in the 114th Congress that bans the advertisement of electronic cigarettes towards children. In other words, I am passionate about advocating health policies for my pediatric patients now that Duke has taught me how to have my voice heard.

Q: Tell us about a project, service group or organization that you are involved with at DUSON, Duke University or in the community.

A: For almost two years, I lead a quality improvement project within the pulmonary unit at my institution to improve the communication and documentation of home ventilator settings in children with a chronic ventilator dependence. Too often, my colleagues and I were admitting patients that used ventilators at home and encountering confusion or lack of knowledge of baseline data regarding mechanical ventilation. The risk for related adverse events was uncomfortable for me. Therefore, as the principal investigator, I put together a team to create a novel, nurse-led documentation tool to capture home ventilator information on admission to our hospital. So far, the data collection process has revealed positive results. Through project collaboration with many key individuals including nurses, providers, and the electronic charting system specialists, I look forward to further improving the safety of my pediatric pulmonary patients.

Q: What have you learned (or are learning) that's made a difference to you?

A: The key piece of information that Duke has taught me through my doctoral studies is how to be a leader. Whether the course was called Leadership or not, I knew I was evolving into a nurse leader with each course I undertook. Through classes focused on such topics as finance, research, statistics, and health policy, I now have the necessary leadership tools to move forward in any direction in my nurse practitioner career.

Q: How does your nursing degree fit into your life's plans?

A: My Doctor of Nursing Practice degree will open many doors. My future plans include moving into advanced practice leadership/management within a large pediatric medical center. As the degree has equipped me with the vital tools to spearhead change in any health care setting, I know I am set up for success. After having gained a considerable amount of rich education from Duke, I also have interest in sharing my knowledge through the art of teaching. I look forward to what the future holds after my studies at Duke!