The GW Nursing Office of Research sat down with Catherine Wilson Cox, Ph.D., RN, CEN, CNE, FAAN, ANEF, a tenured Associate Professor and the Veteran B.S.N. Initiatives Coordinator at the GW School of Nursing, to learn more about her and her work at GW.
Hometown
I was born at Providence Hospital and raised near Tenley Circle, so I’m a native Washingtonian.
Educational Background
I got my BSN from Radford University, my MSN in Nursing Education/Critical Care from Marymount University, and my PhD in Nursing from George Mason University.
Current Work
My “umbrella” of work focuses on workforce issues - whether it is related to the military (since I am a retired Navy nurse), student veterans, and even succession planning in the perioperative nursing field (because they recently funded me). I just finished a funded military nursing study related to shipboard nursing while underway during the pandemic. Last week, I submitted a new proposal to the same funder to explore burn care in large scale combat operations. Also, one of my professional goals is to be a Fulbright Scholar, so I’m working on that package now.
How I Got Interested In Research
During my Ph.D. program, I attended a military nursing research grant camp during which I worked on a grant proposal that turned into my dissertation. In fact, I was the first one in my program to get major funding for a dissertation. The neat thing is that now I teach every summer at that same military nursing research grant camp. Hence, the student has become the teacher.
Fun Facts
I love baseball, and my husband and I are season ticket holders for the Nationals. But my husband is from Massachusetts, so we also like the Red Sox (sorry Yankee fans). Hence, my favorite National League baseball team is the Nats, and my favorite American League baseball team is the Red Sox. Did you know that August 15th is George Washington University Day at Nationals Park? Guess who they are playing that day? The Red Sox. So I’ll definitely be at that game!
I’m happiest when I’m with my kids and my husband (Gerry). My son (Alex) just finished his dual master’s degree from Harvard and my daughter (Caroline) just finished her first year of med school at GW. The above picture was taken when we were hiking in the Berkshires several years ago.