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Susan Bauer-Wu to Receive Distinguished Alumna Award


PLATTSBURGH, NY __ Dr. Susan Bauer-Wu, a 1983 nursing graduate of the State University of New York College at Plattsburgh, will be honored by the Plattsburgh Alumni Association with the Distinguished Alumna Award during the spring commencement ceremonies on Saturday, May 13.

Dr. Susan Bauer-Wu Bauer-Wu, a nurse-scientist, turned her interest in oncology and psychiatry into a highly decorated career of hands-on patient care, research and teaching.

"When I was a nursing student, I was naturally drawn to both oncology and mental health/psychiatry," Bauer-Wu said from Boston, Mass., where she is an instructor of medicine at Harvard University School of Medicine and researcher with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. "My career path has been consistent and closely followed my initial inclination to work in and combine these clinical specialties."

Bauer-Wu's career began after graduation on a medical oncology unit at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in New Hampshire where she spent two years before moving over to the inpatient psychiatric unit at the same facility.

Oncology nursing care was primarily done in the hospital at that time. Bauer-Wu wanted to be involved throughout the continuum of care and also help to create programs that fostered good quality of life for individuals affected by cancer, she said. That vision fostered the creation of a new position in the oncology clinic at Dartmouth-Hitchcock.

In the years that followed, Bauer-Wu earned her master's in nursing as an adult-health/oncology clinical nurse specialist and her doctorate in psychoneuroimmunology and psychometrics in oncology.

She is the recipient of the Oncology Nursing Society's Mara Mogensen Flaherty Memorial Lectureship Award, which is presented to healthcare professionals who provide sustained contributions in the field of psychosocial oncology.

Bauer-Wu's current research studies involve investigating psycho-behavioral interventions aimed to reduce psychological distress, improve physical symptoms like pain or nausea and minimize negative effects of stress.

"Until cancer ceases to exist, we must remain attentive to the human needs of those affected by it. Research in this area deserves attention, just like research for a cure," Bauer-Wu said.

The Distinguished Alumna Award honors alumna who have exemplified the Plattsburgh State foundation of excellence and who have brought credit to the College by their personal accomplishments, professional achievement or humanitarian service. Bauer-Wu was selected for the award by the Alumni Association Board of Directors.

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