Christine K. Bradway, PhD, CRNP, FAAN, AGSF

In every aspect of my work and personal life, I strive to focus on transcultural similarities and the common humanity we all share.

As a clinician educator, Dr. Bradway mentors nurses and other healthcare professionals at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania on gerontology and urologic issues. One goal of this work is to help nurses learn how to present and publish their work, such as a quality improvement project to minimize post-op urinary retention carried out by the nurses on the post-anesthesia care unit.

Questions from colleagues and patients often form the basis of Dr. Bradway’s research. When colleagues asked whether she had seen bowel and bladder problems in older adults with morbid obesity living in nursing homes, she decided to study this. Dr. Bradway found that morbid obesity is not the only factor impacting these problems, but lack of daily self-care ability also plays a significant role. This question came from her clinical practice as a urology nurse consultant for two Genesis Physician Services skilled nursing and long-term care facilities. Impact on Policy and Practice as a Clinician Educator  Dr. Bradway was part of a multi-disciplinary team at the University of Pennsylvania, led by Penn Nursing’s Mary D. Naylor, PhD, FAAN, RN, who developed the Transitional Care Model. Her collaborative work with Dr. Mary Naylor’s team helped persuade policymakers to include transitional care in the Affordable Care Act of 2010. Dr. Bradway and colleagues’ qualitative analysis of advanced practice nurses using the Transitional Care Model highlighted how these nurses were providing important care that, at the time, was not reimbursed by traditional insurance models.   As a co-investigator on the Keystone Geriatrics Center for Enhancing Primary Care and Community Education, funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration, she helps educate primary care providers and students about caring for older adults. The grant, led by researchers at Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine, is a partnership with the University of the Sciences, the Health Promotion Council, Lancaster General Health, and the Philadelphia VA Medical Center. Dr. Bradway’s role includes providing simulation training for nursing, medical, and social work students on team-based care for older adults and a webinar series on issues in geriatric health.  In 2015, Dr. Bradway received the Rodney Appell Continence Care Champion Award from the National Association for Continence for her contributions to clinical practice, research, and advocacy for older people with continence issues. Along with her recent work, those contributions include founding the Penn Nursing Network Continence Program, which provided care for frail older adults with continence issues living in the community from1988 to 2000. 

Dr. Bradway teaches graduate courses related to health care and aging and qualitative empirical nursing research. She mentors graduate students on research, such as a meta-synthesis of the literature on qualitative descriptive methodology, and also involves them in her research.

American Journal of Nursing Book of the Year Award, Nursing Care of Geriatric Emergencies   Norma M. Lang Distinguished Award for Scholarly Practice and Policy, Penn School of Nursing Barbara J. Lowery Doctoral Student Organization Faculty Award