Faculty & Staff

Susan B. Dickey

RN, PhD

Teaching Areas

Pediatric nursing, advanced practice nursing, child development, child health and illness (acute and chronic), the child developing within the family.

Research Areas

Ethicolegal aspects of adolescent health care. Children and adolescents’ capacities to make informed health care decisions. Advances in chronic and genetic disease management and technology create new challenges for health care professionals and patients in making informed decisions. In addition to problems related to such illnesses, the day to day health care decision making process by children and adolescents is affected by the quality of the relationships they have with their health care providers. The growing interest in children's involvement in their own health care decisions and a rebalancing of child and adolescent rights and responsibilities compounds these challenges.

Confidentiality in today’s complex world; an age of computers, faxes, phones, high speed internet lines and other methods of recording and transferring information. The lack of privacy has already undermined patient/provider relationships, especially in the case of sensitive genetic information, exposure of personal health information, and various professions’ penchant for labeling people in ways that may damage.

Clinical Interests
The child and his or her response to health and illness within the context of family. Responses of underserved families to illness. Acute pediatric nursing care of premature and term infants through adolescence.

Distinguished Service
Member of the American Nurses Association Advisory Committee on Ethics and Human Rights (2000-2004)

RECENT PUBLICATIONS IN REFEREED OR JURIED SOURCES

Dickey, S.B. (In press) .Advocacy for our patients: Informed consent. In V.D. Lachman, Ed., Conversations in Ethics. Pensacola, FL. : Pohl Publishing.

Dickey, S.B. (2004) .Nurses should be concerned about the ethical implications of HIPAA regulations. Online Ethics Newsletter, Winter 2004. Washington, D.C. : American Nurses' Association, March-April, 2004 posting www.nursinqworld.org

Deatrick, J.A., Dickey, S.B., Wright, R., Beidler, S.M., Cameron, M.E., Shimuzu, H. & Mason, K. (2003) .The influence of age and experience on children's competence to participate in health care decisions, Journal of Clinical Ethics,14(3), 152- 163.

Dickey, S.B., Kiefner, J. & Beidler, S.M. (2002) .Consent and confidentiality issues among school-age children and adolescents. Journal of School Nursing, 18(3), 179-186.

Dickey, S.B. (2002) .Silence is not enough: Maintaining confidentiality in an electronic world. Online Ethics Newsletter, Spring 2002. Washington, D.C. : American Nurses' Association, May, 2002 posting www.nursinqworld.org

Beidler, S.M. & Dickey, S.B. (2001) .Children's competence to participate in health care decisions. JONA's Healthcare, Law, Ethics and Regulation, 3(3), 80-87.

Dickey, S.B. & Deatrick, J.A. (2000) .Autonomy and decision making for health promotion in adolescents. Pediatric Nursing,26(5), 461-467.

Bowden, V.R., Dickey, S.B. & Greenberg, C.S. (1998) .Children and Their Families: The Continuum of Care. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders (2000+ page, fully theoretical text on pediatric nursing) .

SCHOLARLY PAPERS, POSTERS AND PRESENTATIONS

7/11/04 Dickey, S.B. & Kiefner, J. (2004) ."School Nurses' Concerns about HIPAA and Student Confidentiality: New Worries Since the April 14, 2003 Regulations." National Association of School Nurses Annual Conference, Seattle, WA.

9/13/03 "Confidentiality Concerns of School Nurses: Experienced Ethical Violations," 19th Annual Pediatric Nursing Conference, Chicago, IL. (Conference "best poster" award recipient.)