Education

University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Biomedical Informatics, Houston, Texas
Post-Master’s Certificate - Biomedical Informatics
2021

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
College of Nursing and a Hawn Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship
2017-2019

University of Utah College of Nursing, Salt Lake City, Utah
NINR T32 funded Postdoctoral Fellowship - Interdisciplinary Research in Cancer, Aging, and End of Life Care
2016-2017

University of Utah College of Nursing, Salt Lake City, Utah
Post-Master’s Certificate - Nursing Education
2016

University of Utah College of Nursing, Salt Lake City, Utah
Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing
2016

Cizik School of Nursing, The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, Texas
Master of Science in Nursing - Family Nurse Practitioner -Oncology Focus
2006

New York University College of Nursing, New York, New York
Bachelor of Science in Nursing
2002

Clinical/Research Focus

Her current focus is to improve patient and family caregiver outcomes by developing a program of research focused on describing the symptom burden of chronic and methods for implementing routine symptom monitoring and management in cancer care using PRO measures. She is working on determining whether clinical, demographic, or genetic factors may distinguish symptom trajectory groups as well as modeling symptom trajectories in various chronic disease populations. Identifying distinct symptom trajectories and describing correlates of those trajectories may assist clinicians in targeting symptom management strategies for those most at risk for moderate or severe symptom experiences. Symptom monitoring and management has demonstrated improved patient outcomes, yet best practices have not been established. Collection of symptom data is complicated by the dynamic nature of symptoms, the need for complex data management systems, and the timing of cancer symptoms, which often occur in the home setting and are not reported to clinicians. The use of disease-specific validated questionnaires in capturing PROs is critical for facilitating individualized symptom monitoring, management and treatment decisions. Dr. Whisenant is studying digital and mHealth approaches for capturing symptom-related data using PRO measures and studying patient-provider communication about symptoms in the outpatient setting. Her work focuses on the supportive care needs of both patients and their family caregivers across chronic disease settings.