Knisely Featured in Purdue Nursing News Article
Mitchell Knisely was recently featured in an article entitled "Nursing Alumni Improve Lives Throughout the World" published on the Purdue University School of Nursing website.
Knisely graduated from Purdue in 2009 and immediately went to work as an intensive care nurse. After working in Houston and Indianapolis, however, he felt an itch to continue learning. That, combined with his firsthand experience with patients in pain, compelled Knisely to pursue his nursing research doctorate from the Indiana University School of Nursing and begin researching pain management.
“My desire to continue my education was a bug that was planted early on at Purdue, but so was the idea that we remain patient-centered,” Knisely says. “Whatever I do has to be geared toward improving the well-being and quality of life of patients. If I lose that focus, I’ll lose my fire.”
Knisely earned his doctorate in 2016, then worked as a postdoctoral researcher in the molecular genomics program at the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing. Knisely who is a past president of the Purdue College of Health and Human Sciences Alumni Board, is now an assistant professor at Duke University School of Nursing.
“The Purdue nursing faculty was very big on preaching the need for us to continue our education, move on and be leaders in our fields,” Knisely says. “I always knew I was going to do it. I didn’t know when, and I worked the clinical side for more than four years, but the idea was always there. Now, I have an understanding of the basic science and the clinical applications. I feel like I can speak both languages, which will help me continue my research to better understand the mechanisms of pain and identify more effective strategies for pain relief across populations and settings.”