Preventing Post-Traumatic Distress Disorder (PTSD) after an ICD Shock

Dr. Dougherty is the Spence Endowed Professor in Nursing at the University of Washington School of Nursing, Adjunct Professor in the Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, and an adult nurse practitioner in Cardiology at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System-Seattle, WA. Dr. Dougherty is a nationally and internationally recognized expert on recovery of physical functioning, psychological adjustment, and quality of life in persons who have suffered sudden cardiac arrest and have received an ICD. She has conducted trailblazing research in exercise after an ICD, caregiver interventions after ICD implantation, and goals of care communication in advanced heart failure. Dr. Dougherty is a rare nurse scientist who bridges what is too often a chiasm between nursing research and nursing practice. Dr. Dougherty leads a large interdisciplinary research team, building a program of research that began by systematically characterizing the experiences of those who survived cardiac arrest in Seattle, WA, the home of pioneering work in resuscitation science. The impact of her work is evident in more than 100 publications and an excess of $20 million in research funding.