Interest Statement

I have been a nurse and researcher for the past 29 years and am currently a Research Scientist at the City of Hope National Medical Center. My research is focused on pain management, palliative care and quality of life. Most of my work has been devoted to cancer pain including a focus on ovarian and breast cancer and the undertreatment of cancer pain in women.

I have been involved in development of clinical practice guidelines for pain management and attempts to improve professional education and accountability. I am the Chairperson of the Southern California Cancer Pain Initiative and also currently completing a Master Degree in Theology/Ethics/Culture from Claremont Graduate University.

I applaud the efforts of For Grace in bringing attention to the critical problem of untreated pain in women. 

Biography

Betty Ferrell, PhD, FAAN, has been in oncology nursing for 28 years and has focused her clinical expertise and research in pain management, quality of life, and palliative care. Dr. Ferrell is a Research Scientist at the City of Hope National Medical Center. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and she has over 270 publications in peer-reviewed journals and texts. Dr. Ferrell received the Oncology Nursing Society Distinguished Nurse Researcher Award in 1996. She is Principal Investigator of a study funded by the American Cancer Society on “Palliative Surgery” and she is also Principal Investigator of the End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC) project funded by the NCI and several other funded projects related to end-of-life care in cancer centers and QOL issues in cancer survivors. She is a hospice volunteer and also the chairperson of the Southern California Cancer Pain Initiative.

Dr. Ferrell has authored five books : Cancer Pain Management (1995), Suffering (1995), Pain in the Elderly (1996) and the Textbook of Palliative Nursing Care (first edition 2001, second edition 2006), which was published by Oxford University Press. She is also currently pursuing a Masters degree in Theology, Ethics and Culture from Claremont Graduate University.