July 19, 2010 - Janice Morse, RN, PhD, FAAN, a professor at the University of Utah College of Nursing, was inducted into the newly created Sigma Theta Tau International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame Friday. Eternally honoring nurse researchers who have achieved long-term, broad national and/or international recognition for their work, this honor highlights those whose research has impacted the profession and the people it serves. Dr. Morse was among 22 esteemed Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International nurse researchers chosen for this unique recognition. The ceremony took place at the International Nursing Research Congress in Orlando, Fla.
Dr. Morse holds the Ida May "Dotty" Barnes, RN, and D. Keith Barnes, MD, Presidential Endowed Chair in the College of Nursing. Possessing PhDs in nursing and anthropology, she utilizes anthropological research methods to explore experiences of illness (including patient falls), suffering and comforting. Before coming to Utah, she was a professor at the Pennsylvania State University and the University of Alberta. Dr. Morse was the founding director of the International Institute for Qualitative Methodology, University of Alberta, Canada. Linking 115 universities through 7 international sites, the Institute provided a vast network for the teaching and support of qualitative inquiry. An authority in qualitative research methods, Dr. Morse serves as founding editor-in-chief for Qualitative Health Research. She previously served as a founding editor of the online journal International Journal of Qualitative Methods. She has published more than 370 articles and 15 books and is a fellow of the American Academy for Nursing, American Anthropological Association, the Society for Applied Anthropology, and the Canadian Academy for Health Sciences.
Dr. Morse's contributions to nursing and health research have been acknowledged: she is the 5th Episteme Laureate of Sigma Theta Tau International, and has been awarded honorary Doctorates from the University of Newcastle, Australia, and Athabasca University, Canada. This recent honor is recognition of the impact Dr. Morse's work has had on the nursing profession and the people it serves, particularly in the areas of suffering and comforting. "I am deeply honored to be recognized in Sigma Theta Tau's Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame," says Dr. Morse. "To emerge from writing to find this is both humbling and wonderful."