Sharon Y. Irving, PhD, CRNP, FCCM, FAAN, FASPEN
Sharon Y. Irving’s commitment to improving the odds of survival and healthy development for seriously ill infants and young children began with her work as a staff nurse in a neonatal intensive care unit.
From her doctoral study to her present program of inquiry, Dr Irving focuses on improving nutritional care and nutrient delivery for critically ill infants and children.
“Through my clinical practice, inquiry and program of research, I strive to improve clinical outcomes and enhance nutrient delivery for critically ill infants and children. This includes educating providers to the importance of good nutrition and providing such, to even the most critical pediatric patients.”
Education
- PhD, University of Pennsylvania , 2011
- MSN , University of Pennsylvania , 1993
- BSN, Marquette University, 1980
Teaching
Dr. Irving teaches in the undergraduate pediatric nursing course and guest lectures in the clinical tract of the school’s Pediatric Critical Care Nurse Practitioner Program. She also participates in the ongoing education of clinicians in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP).
Research
As standing faculty on the Clinician Educator track, Dr. Irving uses her hands-on clinical experience to guide her research and uses insights from her research to inform clinical care delivery, particularly nutrition care delivery for critically ill infants and children at CHOP. In one project, for example, she is evaluating outcomes of the nutrition pathway, exploring questions such as: When in the course of illness is enteral nutrition (EN) initiated?, When and how well are target nutritional goals achieved in this population? and Is there a direct association between nutrient delivery and overall outcomes for critically ill pediatric patients?
Clinical Practice
Dr. Irving practices as a pediatric nurse practitioner at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), where she provides patient care in the pediatric intensive care and pediatric progressive care units. She led a multi-disciplinary ICU-Pediatric Nutrition Team (ICU - PNuTs) in designing and implementing a nutrition pathway to improve the way infants and children receive nutrition during and immediately following critical illness. This pathway has been fundamental in identifying the need for similar feeding and nutrition initiatives at CHOP, targeting specific populations. The ICU-PNuT includes physicians, registered dieticians, advance practice and clinical nurses, and a clinical pharmacist.
Opportunities to Learn and Collaborate at Penn Nursing
Dr. Irving entered Penn Nursing as a graduate nursing student in 1991, and later returned to the PhD program in 2006. She joined the faculty in 2012. As Dr. Irving has experienced, Penn Nursing offers students the opportunity to immerse themselves in cutting-edge clinical practice. She mentors students in their research inquiry, quality improvement initiatives, and clinical work.
Selected Career Highlights
- Fellow of American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition, 2021
- Distinguished Nutrition Support Nurse, American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition, 2019
- Fellow, American Academy of Nursing, 2016
- Fellow, American College of Critical Care Medicine, Society of Critical Care Medicine, 2014
- Distinguished Alumna in Service to Nursing Award, Marquette University, 2013
- Dean’s Award for Exemplary Professional Practice, University of Pennsylvania, 2013
Selected Publications
Lisanti, M.J., Savoca, M., Gaynor, J.W., Mascarenhas, M.R., Ravishankar, C., Sullivan, E., Pieciak, K., Costarino, A., Chen, J., Kennedy, A., Olsen, R., Min, J., Mondal, A., Huang, J., Irving, S.Y. (2020). Standardized feeding approach mitigates weight loss in infants with Congenital Heart Disease. The Journal of Pediatrics, [Online ahead of print] Dec 23; S0022-3476(20)31557-2. doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2020.12.047.
Mechanick, J.I., Carbone, S., Dickerson, R.N., Hernandez, B.J., Hurt, R.T., Irving, S.Y., Li, D., McCarthy, M.S., Mogensen, K.M., Ochoa, J., Patel, J.J., Prewitt, T.E., Rosenthal, M., Warren, M., Winkler, M.F., McKeever, L. (2020). Clinical Nutrition Research and the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Scoping Review of the ASPEN COVID-19 Nutrition Taskforce. JPEN Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition, 45(1):13-31. doi: 10.1002/jpen.2036. Epub 2020 Oct 23.
Srinivasan, V., Hasbani, N.R., Mehta, N.M., Irving, S.Y., Kandil, S.B., Allen, H.C., Typpo, K.V., Cvijanovich, N.Z., Faustino, E.V., Wypij, D., Agus, M.S.D., Nadkarni, VM., Half-Pint Study Investigators. (2020). Early enteral nutrition is associated with improved clinical outcomes in critically ill children: a secondary analysis of nutrition support in the Heart and Lung Failure-Pediatric Insulin Titration (HALF-PINT) Trial. Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, 21(3):213-221. doi: 10.1097/PCC.0000000000002135. Epub 2019 Oct 2.
Irving, S.Y., Daly B., Verger, J., Typpo, K.V., Brown, AM., Hanlon, A., Weiss, SL., Fitzgerald, J.C., Nadkarni, V.M., Thomas, N.J., Srinivasan, V., Sepsis Prevalence, Outcomes, and Therapies (SPROUT) Study Investigators and Pediatric Acute Lung Injury and Sepsis Investigators (PALISI) Network. (2018). The association of nutrition status expressed as body mass index z-score with outcomes in children with sepsis: A secondary analysis from the sepsis prevalence, outcomes and therapies (SPROUT) study. Critical Care Medicine, 46(11):e1029-e1039. doi: 10.1097/CCM.0000000000003351. Epub 2018 Aug 7.
Matula, S.T., Polomano, R., Irving, S.Y. (2018). The state of the science in pediatric pain management practices in low-middle income countries (LMIC): An integrative review. International Journal of Nursing Practice, 24(6):e12695. Epub 2018 Sep 26. doi:10.1111/ijn.12695.
Irving, S.Y., Rempel, G., Lyman, B., Sevilla, W.M., Northington, L., Guenter, P., The American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition. (2018). Pediatric Nasogastric Tube Placement and Verification: Best practice recommendations from the NOVEL project. Nutrition in Clinical Practice,33(6):921-927. doi: 10.10002/ncp.10189. Epub 2018 Sep 6.
Karsch, E., Irving, S.Y., Aylward, B.S., Mahle, W.T. (2017). The prevalence and effects of aspiration among neonates at time of discharge. Cardiology in the Young. [Epub ahead of print] 2017 Feb 6. doi: 10.1017/S104795111600278X.
Mehta, N.M., Skillman, H.E., Irving, S.Y., Coss-Bu, J., Vermilyea, S., Farrington, E.A., McKeever, L., Hall, A.M., Goday, P.S., Braunschweig, C. (2017). Guidelines for the provision and assessment of nutrition support therapy in the pediatric critically ill patient: Society of Critical Care Medicine and American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition. Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, 18(7): 675-715. doi: 10.1097/PCC.0000000000001134. Note: Dual publication. JPEN Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition. (2017). Jul; 41(5):706-742. doi: 10.1177/0148607117711387. Epub 2 Jun 2017.
Wool, J., Irving, S.Y., Meghani, S., Ulrich, C. (2021). Parental decision-making in the pediatric intensive care unit: An integrative review. Journal of Family Nursing. 2021 Feb 1 [Online ahead of print]. doi: 10.1177/1074840720975869
Brown, A.M., Madsen, E.C., Leonard, C.P., Leslie, S.L., Allen, C., Srinivasan, V., Irving, S.Y. (2020). Continuous vs bolus gastric feeding in mechanically ventilated pediatric patients: A systematic review of the literature. American Journal of Critical Care, 29(1): 33-45. doi: 10.4037/ajcc2020850.
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