Boston College Front Row

Karen Daley, M.S.'04, Ph.D.'10, president of the American Nurses Association, delivers the Connell School of Nursing's Pinnacle Lecture, titled "Leading the Charge: A Nursing Agenda in the Age of Health Care Reform." A perfect storm of factors, Daley says, is converging and could undercut recent health care reform efforts, including an unsustainable cost trajectory for health care, the aging of the baby boomer generation, and a shortage of providers, both primary care physicians and nurse practitioners. "The focus for me as a nurse," she says, "is about shifting the conversation away from illness care to a conversation about wellness and prevention in this country."