Diane Kennedy, RN, MS, PhD

Clinical Assistant Professor

Email: dkennedy@kumc.edu
Phone: (913) 588-3355

Dr. Kennedy has been an instructor at the University of Kansas School of Nursing since 1992. She provides clinical and theory instruction to undergraduate students in two courses: Fundamentals of Nursing and Nursing of Children. She also teaches an elective in Advanced Infusion Therapy as well as an on-line Nursing Research course for graduate students.

As a member of the nursing staff at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, MO since 1975, Dr. Kennedy has extensive experience in pediatric critical care and home care. Currently, Dr. Kennedy practices in the Call Center providing telephone triage and home care advisement to families in the Kansas and Missouri region.

Dr. Kennedy was inducted into the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International, Delta Chapter in 1998 and is a member of the Midwest Nursing Research Society.

In 2004 as a doctoral candidate, Dr. Kennedy received three research awards to support her dissertation work about learning with technology: The Nurses’ Scholarship and Fellowship Award, The Liesel M. Heimenz Scholarship Award both from Nurses Educational Funds Inc., and the Taunton Millennium Scholar Award from the School of Nursing at the University of Kansas. In 2006 as a continuation of her dissertation work, the National League for Nursing funded an intervention study about using an electronic health record in post-clinical conferences to develop nursing process skills. Patient safety is Dr. Kennedy’s second research interest. In 2008, she received funding from Kansas University Health Partners Inc. to conduct a qualitative study about the acute care nurses’ experience with threats to patient safety. In January 2008, she was appointed to a 12 month Health Information Technology Scholar program funded by the University of Kansas School of Nursing in collaboration with the Schools of Nursing at the University of Colorado Denver and Indiana University, in partnership with the National League for Nursing. Recent publications and presentations from pre- and post-doctoral studies include the following.

Publications

• Kennedy, D. (2004). An analysis of frontline, sharp-end human error:  Beyond throwing out the “bad apples.”  Journal of Nursing Care Quality, 19, 116-122.
• Kennedy, D., Sylvia, E., Bani-Issa, W., Khater, W., & Thompson, S. (2005). Beyond the rhythm and routine: Adjusting to life in assisted living. Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 31, 17-23.
• Kennedy, D. (2006). Evidence-based strategies to prevent medication error in acute care: The state-of-the-art. Practice Pointers: The Nursing Newsletter of the University of Kansas Hospital, 5, 3-4.
• Kennedy, D., Pallikkathayil, L., & Warren, J. (in press). Using a modified electronic health record to develop nursing process skills. Journal of Nursing Education.
• Kennedy, D. (2006). Evidence-based guidelines for medication error prevention. HealthGate Data Corporation.http://qarc.healthgate.com/Security/Login/DoLogin.aspx.

Paper Presentations

• Forbes, S., Rempusheski, V., Bani-Issa, W., Kennedy, D., Al Omari, H., Powers, B. A., & Rowles, G. (2003, November).Everyday decision making by residents in assisted living. Symposium presentation at the annual meeting of the Gerontological Society of America, San Diego, CA.
• Kennedy, D. (2005, November). Using an electronic health record to develop nursing process skills and critical thinking: A qualitative study about the students’ experiences and behaviors. Paper presentation at the 10th Kansas Nursing Research Exchange, Overland Park, KS.

Poster Presentations

• Kennedy, D., Bani-Issa, W., Elliott, C., & Burnett, M.L. (2003, April). Psychometric testing of the National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators (NDNQI) Adapted Index of Work Satisfaction. Poster presentation at the annual meeting of the Midwest Nursing Research Society, Grand Rapids, MI.
• Kennedy, D., Sylvia, E., Ammouri, A., & Parsons, L.  (2004, February). The harbor of assisted living: Safe at anchor in everyday decision making.  Poster presentation at the annual meeting of the Midwest Nursing Research Society, Saint Louis, MO.