Faculty Profile

Biography

Susan Roche is a Doctoral prepared Certified Nurse Practitioner specializing in Adult Health Chronic Illness and Oncology/Hematology. Susan’s areas of graduate instruction included obtaining detailed Health History, performing Physical Exams, Pathophysiology, Oncology Care and Adult Chronic Illness, and Simulation based Learning.  She completed a post-Doctoral Leadership in Simulation Certificate Program which earned 9 graduate credits (three 3 credits courses) which included Simulation Development, Organizational Leadership, and Innovation in Simulation. She also completed a week-long course in Simulation Learning at Penn State Hershey Medical School. She worked as a full-time Faculty Lecturer in Nursing at Pennsylvania State University, Behrend campus where she served as Simulation Lab Coordinator and Advisor for the RN to BSN program in addition to teaching Pathophysiology of chronic illnesses and the Medical/Surgical patient care, Research, Physical Assessment, and a multidisciplinary Death and Dying Course. Susan also was a Certified National Chemotherapy Instructor by the Oncology Nursing Society. Susan collaborated with a dietician to contribute a chapter on Gynecologic Malignancy for a published book, Nutritional Issues In Cancer Care, which was awarded the Oncology Nursing Society’s, Book of the Year in 2005. She also received the 2010 International Year of the Nurse – Recognition Award for Lifetime Achievement of Oncology Nursing Excellence – awarded from the NW PA Chapter of the Oncology Nursing Society, and the 1989 Dorothy J. Novello Award for Nursing Excellence for volunteer work in the community, significantly contributing to the community awareness of the profession by the Hamot Medical Center Department of Nursing.

Susan currently serves on the Board of Directors at Sarah Reed Senior Living Center, past Board member of the local American Cancer Society, Northwest Chapter of the Oncology Nursing Society, and served on the Professional Advisory Committee of the Pennsylvania Cancer Care Consortium (PAC3) sponsored by the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Quality of Life Subcommittee. Susan also served as a Founding Board member of the Northwest Chapter of the Oncology Nursing Society, serving on the Board of Directors for 12 years in various leadership positions as Secretary, President and Education Program Director developing and providing ANCC contact hours to support clinical certification.

 Susan worked 47 years in clinical practice in various clinical settings which included The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania NCI funded Oncology Unit conducting phase I, II and III clinical research trials in the treatment of malignant disorders, Hamot Medical Center – Oncology Clinical Nurse Specialist to improve patient outcomes across the continuum of care, Hamot Regional Health Services – Primary Care in Family Medicine and Internal Medicine, The Regional Cancer Center – Oncology Nurse Practitioner for Medical and Radiation Oncology, Hematology and Palliative Care, AHN at Saint Vincent Cancer Institute – Oncology Nurse Practitioner for Medial Hematology/Oncology and Palliative Care, and the Pittsburgh VA – lead provider at the Erie VA establishing an Oncology/Hematology Clinic and Infusion Center with administration of antineoplastic agents.