HERSHEY, Pa. — Mary Lou Kanaskie has been promoted to the position of director of the Office of Nursing Research and Innovation at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.
Her primary responsibilities will focus on development of research and evidence-based practice activities to promote innovations in the delivery of safe and quality patient care, establishment of a system to mentor staff in creating practice innovations through research and evidence-based practice activities, and collaboration with colleagues across academic departments in the pursuit of joint research and innovation projects.
Kanaskie’s career as a nurse educator spans more than 30 years. She is an assistant professor in nursing and public health sciences at Penn State and has received state and national recognitions for her contributions to nursing education. Kanaskie most recently served as interim director of nursing education and professional development at the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. As a research nurse scientist in the Department of Nursing, she developed the Evidence-based Practice Fellowship and Writing Academy programs.
Kanaskie earned her bachelor of science, master of science and doctorate in nursing from Penn State. Her primary research interests include symptom management in oncology patients and palliative care education. Kanaskie’s research on cognitive change in women with breast cancer following chemotherapy was presented at national conferences, and her findings were published in the Journal of Cancer Survivorship. She has also been published in numerous professional nursing journals.
Active in state and national nursing organizations, Kanaskie has held leadership positions in the Pennsylvania State Nurses Association and the Oncology Nursing Society. She is also a member of Sigma Theta Tau, Eastern Nursing Research Society, Association for Nursing Professional Development and Pennsylvania Organization of Nurse Leaders.