Martha A.Q. Curley, RN, PhD, FAAN

Department	Critical Care Medicine
Hospital Title	Nurse Scientist in Critical Care and Cardiovascular Nursing
Academic Title	Associate Professor, School of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania; Lecturer-part time, Anesthesia, Harvard Medical School
Phone	215-573-9449
Fax	215-573-7507
Email	Martha Curley
Location	University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing Claire M. Fagin Hall 418 Curie Boulevard Philadelphia PA 19104

Research Overview

Dr. Curley's research focuses on improving the standard of care in the pediatric critical care unit. She has led teams in developing evidence-based procedures for identifying patients at risk for pressure ulcers, evaluated the effects of prone positioning in children treated for acute respiratory distress and lung injury, and helped to develop nutrition guidelines for patients on mechanical ventilation. Dr. Curley's research also focuses on interventional studies to support parent needs and priorities in the pediatric intensive care unit, instrument development studies to provide clinicians with better tools to assess patient status and risk, and multi-site clinical trials to generate new knowledge in the care of critically-ill pediatric patients.

In addition, Dr. Curley led a team of experts in developing the Synergy Model for Critical Care for the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses. The Synergy Model has been implemented for certification exams and for curriculum in schools of nursing.

About Martha Curley

Dr. Curley received her bachelor's degree from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and her master's in Pediatric Acute Care Nursing from Yale University. She was awarded her PhD in 1997 from Boston College. She is currently an Associate Professor of Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Curley is also a Nurse Scientist in Critical Care and Cardiovascular Nursing at Boston Children's Hospital and she holds an appointment as Lecturer-part time in Anesthesia at Harvard Medical School. She was Louise Mellen Fellow in Critical Care Nursing at Yale University and completed a University Fellowship in Nursing Research at Boston College.

Dr. Curley has achieved wide recognition for her work related to clinical management of critically ill infants and children and their families, and also for her contributions to the field of pediatric critical care nursing. She has received more than $5 million dollars in research awards (including $3 million dollars as Principal Investigator) of primarily federal grants.

Key Publications

• Dingeman RS, Mitchell EA, Meyer EC, Curley MAQ. (2007). Parent Presence during Complex Invasive Procedures and Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation: A Systematic Review of the Literature. Pediatrics, 120(4), 842-854
• Curley MAQ, Harrison, C.H., Craig, N., Lillehei, C.W, Micheli, A., & Laussen, P.C. (2007). Pediatric Staff Perspectives on Organ Donation after Cardiac Death in Children. Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, 8(3), 212-219.
• Connor, J.A., Curley, M.A.Q., Jenkins, K.J., Gauvreau, K., & Hickey, P.A. (2006). Maximizing intensive care bed utilization while maintaining pediatric patient safety and quality of care. Patient Safety and Quality Healthcare, 3(6), 50-55.
• Curley, M.A.Q., Harris, S.K., Fraser, K., Johnson, R., & Arnold, J.H. (2006). State behavioral State Behavioral Scale (SBS): A sedation assessment instrument for infants and young children supported on mechanical ventilation. Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, 7(2), 107-114.
• Truog, R.D., Cist, A.F.M., Brackett, S.E., Burns, J.P., Curley, M.A.Q., Danis, M., DeVita, M.A., Rosenbaum, S.H., Rothenberg, D.M., Sprung, C.L., Webb, S.A., Wlody, G.S., & Hurford, W.E. (2001). Recommendations for end-of-life care in the intensive care unit: The Ethics Committee of the Society of Critical Care Medicine. Critical Care Medicine, 29, 2332-2348.