Diann B. Uustal on excellence in ethics and quality in care. Interview by Susan V. White

Diann B. Uustal, EdD, is the founder and president of an educational consulting firm, Educational Resources in HealthCare, Inc. She is a facilitator of workshops and seminars in clinical ethics, professional caregiving issues, and values education at hospitals, colleges of nursing and medicine, and specialty nursing, medical, and other professional organizations. She also teaches a graduate course in healthcare ethics and is a professor at the University of Rhode Island. She received a bachelor's degree in nursing from the University of Rhode Island and a master's degree in nursing from the University of Massachusetts. She earned her doctorate in education, majoring in ethics and values in healthcare, at the University of Massachusetts. In 1994, Dr. Uustal completed a year's postdoctoral fellowship in clinical bioethics as a Visiting Fellow at the Kennedy Institute of Ethics at Georgetown University. She has authored numerous articles on healthcare values and ethics, professional issues in nursing, and caring for the caregiver. In addition, Dr. Uustal has published four books, most recently, Caring for Yourself--Caring for Others: The Ultimate Balance and Clinical Ethics and Values: Issues and Insights in a Changing Health Care Environment. Dr. Uustal also has co-edited Teacher Burnout, a book published by the National Education Association. She was a major consultant to the award-winning Concept Media film series "Ethics, Values and Health Care" and wrote the script for the film "Values Clarification."