Page 5 - Johns Hopkins School of Nursing Degree Completion Ceremony - August 16, 2021
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LAURA LUCAS
Assistant Professor Laura Lucas, DNP, MS, RN, is an advanced practice clinical
nurse specialist and coordinator of the Birth Companions program, which over two
decades has offered nursing students the opportunity—as doulas—to provide labor
support and advocacy services to nearly 2,500 mothers from various backgrounds.
Certified in inpatient obstetrics and electronic fetal monitoring, Dr. Lucas has
presented nationally and internationally on the nurse-doula partnership in
decreasing C-sections and preterm birth rates, shortening labor, and lessening use
of analgesics. She has also spoken on treating childbirth complications; the use of
simulation in educating maternal care providers; and treating opioid-addicted
expectant mothers. Dr. Lucas has facilitated education for nursing staff at Johns
Hopkins Hospital Zayed 8E/W Obstetrical Units to support the Maryland Patient
Safety Initiative to Decrease the Primary C-Section Rate. A graduate of Johns Hop-
kins University (BS), the University of Delaware (MS), and Chatham University
(DNP), Dr. Lucas is a member of Sigma Theta Tau (Nu Beta Chapter), the
Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN), and
the National Association for Clinical Nurse Specialists (Chesapeake Bay Chapter).
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