Excellence in Laser Nursing/Allied Health Award

Congratulations on receiving the Excellence in Laser Nursing/Allied Health Award this year. Please comment on receiving the award and what it means to you.
Health care is a challenging field both mentally and physically. I have responded to disasters, made it through COVID, and been present at births and deaths. But building the Laser Program for Burn Reconstruction at UNC has been one of my most rewarding activities. It has been both a challenge and a joy. To be recognized for this work means a great deal to me as a provider. To be recognized by my peers at ASLMS makes this award even more meaningful.

You will be delivering your award presentation, " Changing Lives," at the Awards Brunch on Sunday, April 16. Can you share some highlights of your talk?
Burn Reconstruction is a diverse field that includes multiple players, such as surgeons, therapists, pharmacists, and other specialists. With the advent of laser therapy, the remodeling of scar tissue has become a central tenant of reconstruction. Many patients who would have historically required large tissue rearrangements to deal with contractures and scar tissue now require smaller focused surgical releases after laser therapy. In many instances, surgery can even be entirely avoided. Significant issues with neuropathic pain and pruritus in scar tissue can be eliminated with laser therapy, and the medications required to manage these symptoms discontinued. Honestly, after many years in this practice, I still find myself being wowed by the effect of laser therapy on scar tissue.

Please share highlights of your background that have contributed to who you are today.
Having been in nursing for 43 years I have worked in multiple environments including pharmaceutical research, genetics, critical and emergency care, medical practices and surgical practices in both large and small hospitals. All of this adds to my perspective on the care I provide to my patients. Just as patients are the sum of their experiences, so too are we as providers.

How has your involvement in ASLMS contributed to your career? Why should young researchers become involved with ASLMS?
ASLMS is an amazing organization that is dedicated to education and practice. Whenever I am mentoring practitioners on the use and practice of laser therapy, one of the first things I do is recommend they join ASLMS. One of my most successful patient cases (again changing lives) involved a young woman with significant chronic radiation-induced telangiectasia r/t breast cancer. All she wanted was to be able to wear a v-neck shirt without people constantly asking her what was wrong with her skin. I had just finished reading the paper by Dr. Rossi (2018) and his team in Lasers in Surgery and Medicine on the effect of PDL on the quality of life of those with radiation-induced breast telangiectasias and discussed this approach with the patient. She was willing to give it a try, and after only a couple of treatments, she was again happily wearing v-neck shirts – mission accomplished! This one small success was due to the research efforts by Dr. Rossi and his team, the publication in our journal, and the translation to bedside practice by a provider. This is why young researchers should become involved in ASLMS. Research drives practice, and practice produces more questions for research.

Tell us something our members may not know about you.
I love to read sci-fi novels, and I leveled my sorceress to 90 in Diablo II but have taken a break waiting for Diablo IV to drop.