PSNA Member
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Cynthia Connolly, PhD RN FAAN
Rosemarie B. Greco Endowed Term Chair, Advocacy
Associate Professor of Nursing,
University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing
Associate Director,
Barbara Bates Center, Study of the History of Nursing
Co-Faculty Director,
Field Center for Children’s Policy, Practice, and Research
Senior Fellow, Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics
photo credit
Penn Nursing
Rutgers University Press
What drew you to pediatric nursing?
I wanted to be a pediatric nurse for as long as I can remember. I was one of those kids who
dressed up like a nurse for Halloween and who read nurse story books. My grandmother was a nurse and in her
pictures from the 1920s she looked glamorous, beautiful, competent, and in charge of her life!
How has your PSNA membership brought value to your practice?
PSNA membership lets me join other nurses to get my voice heard. In addition to nursing’s moral and cultural
authority, our numbers make us powerful.
Tell us about a proud moment in your career.
I am particularly proud of my new book (publishing in April 2018), which is nested at the junctures of history,
public health policy, and clinical practice. Children and Drug Safety: Balancing Risk and Protection in Twentieth
Century America traces the development, use, and marketing of drugs for children in the 20th century. It is a his-
tory that sits at the interface of the state, business, healthcare providers, parents, and children. It illuminates the
historical dimension of a clinical and policy issue with great contemporary significance. In fact, many of the drugs
administered to children today have never been tested for safety and efficacy in the pediatric population.
Chapters engage with major turning points in pediatric drug development: children’s risk, rights, protection, and
the evolving context of childhood; child-rearing; and family life in ways freighted with nuances of race, class, and
gender. It charts the numerous attempts by Congress, the Food and Drug Administration, the American Academy
of Pediatrics, and leading pediatric pharmacologists, scientists, clinicians, and parents to address a situation that
all found untenable.
What is your favorite moment of your career so far?
This is a really great question, no one has ever asked me that. I would have to say that it was after I had been a
nurse for five years. I felt insecure and “all thumbs” in terms of my skills. I didn’t realize how much I was devel-
oping until I was called to another unit to do a procedure on a child that none of the other nurses (or doctors)
had been able to do. When I got off the elevator, the intern told the mother, “I promised you I would get the best
person in the hospital to do this procedure and here she is.” I was so proud and realized how far I had come!
What is one thing people would be surprised to know about you?
I am totally into classic rock and roll, especially Bruce Springsteen. I’ve been to more than 30 of his concerts!
Issue 73, 2 2018 Pennsylvania Nurse 14