AstraZeneca Award

My name is Holly Tschirhart and I have been a Registered Nurse since 2011. After studying human kinetics in my undergraduate degree, I decided to return to school to pursue nursing. I was fascinated with physiology, anatomy, and pharmacology and I wanted join the nursing profession where I could connect this knowledge to hands-on patient education and health promotion. While completing a summer research studentship during my nursing degree, I became passionate about diabetes and health sciences research.

I am now a Certified Diabetes Educator and have worked clinically with adults with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, pediatrics, and most recently as a diabetes nurse educator in the community. In 2016, I received the Diabetes Educator Endocrine Award. I am proud to be an active member of the national diabetes community as a Professional Section member of Diabetes Canada and an editorial board member of the Diabetes Canada Diabetes Communicator publication.

I have been fortunate to work with outstanding nurses who have inspired a career in nursing science. I am currently a full-time PhD student in the School of Nursing at McMaster University. My PhD thesis is a mixed methods study looking at the prevalence and experiences of diabetes distress in women with type 1 and type 2 diabetes during pregnancy. I hope as a nurse scientist to contribute to the knowledge base of diabetes clinical care, education, and research.