Eileen T. Lake, Ph.D., RN, FAAN

Dr. Lake leads a program of research on the contributions of the nurse's work environment and clinical nursing expertise to patient outcomes. She says, "Research demonstrating the positive effects on nurses and patients of good work environments can be a catalyst for change." From the perspective of organizational sociology, Dr. Lake has developed a theoretical framework linking the nurse's work environment to patient outcomes. Her work advances the instruments and methods of outcomes research. She is principal investigator of two studies of nurse staffing, practice environments, and patient outcomes. One study, funded by the NIH, uses the ANA-sponsored National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators, comprising data from 4,300 nursing units in 650 hospitals nationally. The other, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Interdisciplinary Nursing Quality Research Initiative, studies very low birthweight infant outcomes in 104 neonatal intensive care units throughout the U. S. Dr. Lake's work reaches diverse audiences in nursing, sociology, and health policy.