Barbara Birriel
PhD, ACNP-BC, FCCM
Associate Research Professor
Phone: 717-531-8764
Email: bab44@psu.edu
I teach in the Penn State Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing, primarily in the Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner option in the DNP program. I advise DNP and PhD students. My clinical practice as a critical care nurse practitioner is in the Heart and Vascular ICU at Penn State Hershey Medical Center. My research focus is related to ethics issues in critical care and family surrogate decision making, as well as collaborative research involving implementation science, telehealth, and bioethics.
Education
- Fellowship in Clinical Medical Ethics, University of Chicago, MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics
- PhD in Nursing and Bioethics, The Pennsylvania State University
- Post-Master’s Certificate Adult Critical Care Nurse Practitioner, University of Pennsylvania
- MSN, Thomas Jefferson University
- BSN, Bloomsburg University
Teaching
Courses Taught over the Last Five Years:
- NURS 200W: Principles of Nursing Research and Evidence-Based Practice
- NURS 494: Honors Thesis
- NURS 588: Health Care Policy for Nurse and Healthcare Scholars
- NURS 596: Individual Studies
- NURS 601: Dissertation Preparation
- NURS 602: Supervised Experience in College Teaching
- NURS 824: Primary Palliative Care: An Interdisciplinary Approach
- NURS 825: Primary Palliative Care: Interdisciplinary Management of Advanced Serious Illness
- NURS 826: Interdisciplinary Practicum of the Primary Palliative Care Role
- NURS 860: Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Role I
- NURS 861: Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Role II
- NURS 862: Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Practicum I
- NURS 862D: Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Practicum I
- NURS 863: Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Practicum II
- NURS 863D: Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Practicum II
- NURS 864: Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner integrative Practicum
- NURS 865: Pharmacology for Acute Care Nurse Practitioners
- NURS 866: Health Assessment of the Adult Gerontology Population in Acute Care
Courses Developed over the Last Five Years:
- NURS 860: Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Role I
- NURS 862D: Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Practicum I
- NURS 863D: Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Practicum II
- NURS 864D: Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner integrative Doctoral Practicum
- NURS 865: Pharmacology for Acute Care Nurse Practitioners
- NURS 866: Health Assessment of the Adult Gerontology Population in Acute Care
Clinical Expertise and Areas of Specialization
CLINICAL FOCUS:
- Critical care
- Acute care
CERTIFICATIONS:
- ACNP-BC
- CNE
Mentorship
Graduate Students Advised:
- MSN – 190
- DNP – 8
Current Students Advised:
- DNP – 11
- PhD – 2
Research
Research Interests and Areas of Expertise
- Bioethics
- Critical care
Presentations and Conference Involvement
- Birriel, B. A. (April 6, 2024). “Cognitive Disorders in the Acute Care Setting,” Focus on Pharmacology, Penn State Health Hershey Medical Center Advanced Practice Council, Invited. Local.
- Birriel, B. A. (April 5, 2024). “Family Surrogates in Critical Care: When is it Time for Palliative Care,” Eastern Nursing Research Society 36th Annual Scientific Session, Boston, Massachusetts. Accepted. Regional.
- Buckley, M., & Birriel, B. A. (Co-Author). (January 23, 2024). “ICU Clinical Pharmacist-to-Patient Ratios: A Prospective, Multicenter Time-Motion Study,” Society of Critical Care Medicine Annual Congress, Society of Critical Care Medicine, Phoenix, Arizona. Accepted. International.
- Birriel, B. A. (Author and Presenter). (November 29, 2022). “Research subject or patient? Ethical issues in clinical research,” SARI sessions, Penn State Office for Research Protection, online, 40 in attendance, Invited.
- Birriel, B. A. (June 23, 2022). “Primary Bioethics: Ethics for the Practitioner in Acute and Critical Care,” American Association of Nurse Practitioners Annual Conference, American Association of Nurse Practitioners, Orlando, Florida. 100 in attendance, peer-reviewed/refereed. Accepted, unable to attend due to family illness.
- Birriel, B. A., & Tirado, T. (Hershey Medical Center). (May 19, 2022). “Ethical Issues in End-of-Life Care: Patient, Family, and Healthcare Providers,” Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center Nursing Ethics Rounds, Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center Nursing Ethics Interest Group, online, 57 in attendance, Invited. Institutes.
- The presentation was part of the project developed for the University of Chicago’s MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics fellowship. Two sessions were held on the same day.
- Birriel, B. A. (May 4, 2022). “Development of a Nursing Ethics Interest Group in and Academic Medical Center.,” MacLean Center Clinical Medical Ethics Fellowship series, University of Chicago, MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics, 74 in attendance, Contributed. International.
- Birriel, B. A. (October 2021). “COVID-19 From a Different Perspective: The Ethics of a Pandemic,” Pennsylvania Coalition of Nurse Practitioners Annual Conference, Pennsylvania Coalition of Nurse Practitioners, Pittsburgh, PA, 50 in attendance, peer-reviewed/refereed, Accepted. State.
- Birriel, B. A., & Hrabovsky, S. (October 2021). “Teaching Telehealth and Remote Physical Examination,” Pennsylvania Coalition of Nurse Practitioners Annual Conference, Pennsylvania Coalition of Nurse Practitioners, Pittsburgh, PA, 40 in attendance, peer-reviewed/refereed, Accepted. State.
- Birriel, B. A., & Hrabovsky, S. (April 2021). “Teaching Telehealth and Remote Physical Examination Skills to Nurse Practitioner Students,” National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF) 47th Annual Conference, National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties, Virtual, 140 in attendance, peer-reviewed/refereed, Accepted. National.
- Kanaskie, M. L., Birriel, B. A. (Author), & Acri, S. (March 2021). “Distress Screening in Cancer: Analysis of Implementation Outcomes,” Eastern Nursing Research Society Virtual 33rd Annual Scientific Sessions, Eastern Nursing Research Society, virtual, 150 in attendance, peer-reviewed/refereed, Accepted. Regional.
- Birriel, B. A. (Author and Presenter). (March 2021). “Implementation Science – Evaluating Interventions and Related Outcomes,” Eastern Nursing Research Society Virtual 33rd Annual Scientific Session, Eastern Nursing Research Society, virtual, 150 in attendance, peer-reviewed/refereed, Accepted. Regional.
- Birriel, B. A. (Author and Presenter), Kanaskie, M. L., & Acri, S. (November 5, 2020). “Evaluation of Distress Screening Process,” Hematology/Oncology Grand Rounds: Psychosocial Distress Screening on Cancer Standard 5.2, Penn State health Hershey Medical Center Cancer Institute, 45 in attendance, Invited. Institutes.
Research Funding and Grants
ONGOING:
- January 2024
“Examining the Impact of Intensive Care Unit Diary Programs on Critical-Care Nurses,” Hackenberger, A. (Principal Investigator), Birriel, B. A. (Principal Investigator), 50% credit. American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, Associations, Institutes, Societies and Voluntary Health Agencies.
$49,999 - July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2025
“Expanding Capacities of Care: Methodological and Pedagogical Opportunities in Narrative Ethics and Creative Inquiry for Nursing Education and Professional Development,”
Knochel, A. (Principal Investigator), Birriel, B. A. (Co-Principal Investigator), Kitt-Lewis, E. A. (Co-Principal Investigator), Mekel, M. (Co-Principal Investigator), Shaw, J. (Co-Principal Investigator)
Penn State – Huck Institute of Life Science, Penn State
$20,000
COMPLETED:
- Birriel, B. A., Hrabovsky, S. “Teaching Telehealth and Remote Physical Examination Skills to Nurse Practitioner Students,” Penn State College of Nursing Center for Nursing Research.
$2,860.00.
Publications and Scholarly Work
- Hwang, D. Y., Oczkowski, S., Lewis, K., Birriel, B. A., Downar, Farrier, C., Fiest, K., Gerritsen, R., Hart, J., Hartog, C., Heras La Calle, G., Hope, A., Jennerich, A., Kentish-Barnes, N., Kleinpell, R., Kross, E., Marshall, A., Nydahl, P., Peters, T., Rosa, R., Scruth, E., Sederstrom, N., Stollings, J., Turnbull, A., Valley, T., Netzer, G., Aslakson, R., & Hopkins, R. (2025). Society of Critical Care Medicine guidelines on family-centered care for adult ICUs: 2024. Critical Care Medicine 53(2), e465-e482.
- Buckley, M. S., Smith, S., & Birriel, B. A. (30%), et al. (2025). Intensive Care Unit Clinical Pharmacist-to-Patient Ratios: A Prospective, Multicenter Time-Motion Study. Critical Care Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1097/CCM.0000000000006605
- Wangi, K., Birriel, B. A. (30%), & Smith, C. (2024). Perspectives: Nursing Robotics – Ethical Issues for Artificial Intelligence Robots, Nurses’ Roles, and the Future. Journal of Research in Nursing 29(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/17449871241231385
Service
Professional Organization Involvement and Fellowships
MEMBERSHIPS:
- Society of Critical Care Medicine
- American Society for Bioethics and Humanities
- American Association of Nurse Practitioners
- American Association of Critical-Care Nurse
- American Nurses Association
FELLOWSHIPS:
- American College of Critical Care Medicine (FCCM)
