The Dr. Paula Show, Tuesday 02/07 At 11 AM: Carolyn Dickens

Did you know that February is American Heart Month? To find out how making small changes can have a big effect on your heart health and for more information on how to support American Heart Month, visit this CDC link.  The next Dr. Paula Show will feature Carolyn Dickens, Nurse Practitioner at the University of Illinois Hospital and Health Sciences System and the Director of the Heart Failure Readmission Program. The show will air on Tuesday, February 7th at 11 AM. Carolyn will be sharing her thoughts on increasing health literacy awareness on nurses, interventions implemented to reduce heart failure readmissions and barriers observed among economically diverse patient populations.

Carolyn Dickens is a Nurse Practitioner at the University of Illinois Hospital and Health Sciences System and the Director of the Heart Failure Readmission Program. Clinically, she has been in practice since 1999 in a variety of cardiovascular settings. Current clinical responsibilities include directing heart failure patient care in the inpatient setting with a specific focus on preventing heart failure readmissions. She also developed and implemented a transitional care clinic in the outpatient setting. Carolyn co-chairs the Reducing Unwanted Heart Failure Readmission (RUHFR) committee and is actively involved in several other hospital quality initiatives. From an academic standpoint, she earned her Master of Science in Nursing/Acute Care Nurse Practitioner from Johns Hopkins University after receiving her BSN from the University of Iowa. Currently, she is a PhD candidate at the UIC CON with a research focus on examining self-care among low socioeconomic status patients who have heart failure. Carolyn has published and lectured widely on topics pertaining to health literacy, patient education and issues effecting low SES patient populations. She is an active member of Heart Failure Society of America, American Heart Association, Sigma Theta Tau and Illinois Society of Advanced Practice Nurses.

Do you have an idea for a Dr. Paula Show topic? Is there someone you would like to hear interviewed on the topic of health literacy? Share you suggestions with us! Contact Brienne Lowry at bdavis7@uic.edu.