Alum returns to tackle global quality outcomes, pediatric oncology

Stepping inside some of the hospitals and orphanages in Thailand, Brazil, Mexico and India, Courtney Sullivan could tell, even then as a young adult, that she’d be back.

The lack of quality, access to resources and abundance of hurting children deeply impacted her post-high school international service and pushed her into a nursing career, first working at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Tennessee and, later, as a nurse scientist.

“Whenever I passed a hospital, I had this tug,” Sullivan said of her early overseas trips. “I knew if I ever came back, I would want to work with those who are suffering and need help.”

In August, Sullivan joined the Michigan State University College of Nursing, where she focuses on pediatric oncology nursing science. Ultimately, she noted, her goal is to create an international consortium of hospitals to improve patient outcomes globally through the measurement and sharing of quality indicators, such as nurse staffing, pain management, and chemotherapy administration.

Now an assistant professor, Sullivan began her Spartan career as a BSN student, later working at St. Jude — both clinically and in its global program — and as a postdoc at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

“Michigan State is home for me. I think that here there is a lot of opportunity in terms of expertise in oncology nursing science,” Sullivan said, specifically mentioning the expertise of Professors Emeriti Barbara Given and Gwen Wyatt.

Even though she has been with the college for only a month, Sullivan is already making waves. She recently learned that she will be one of three MSU College of Nursing faculty members inducted as fellows in the American Academy of Nursing this fall, and she was named this month to OncoDaily’s “100 Influential Women in Oncology” list.

“It’s a real honor to be inducted and something that I didn’t really anticipate,” Sullivan said of her fellowship. “For me, it’s stepping into a world of academic and scientific nurse leaders, and I look forward to being around all of them and contributing to the work of the academy.”

Dean Leigh Small said while there are high expectations for new faculty, Sullivan rapidly exceeded them. 

“Dr. Sullivan is a bright, rising star in the world of nursing research and we are thrilled to have a Spartan Nurse alumni rejoin our family as a faculty member,” Small said. “I look forward to watching her achievements and contributions to impacting the nursing profession and improving the lives of children enduring a cancer diagnosis.”

Published Sept. 18, 2024.