City of Hope oncology nursing research scientist Betty Ferrell, Ph.D., has received the 2010 Distinguished Researcher Award from the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association (HPNA).

Betty Ferrell (Photo courtesy of the Archstone Foundation)

The award is bestowed on a nurse who has demonstrated longevity and consistency in hospice and palliative nursing research presentations and publications in a variety of peer-reviewed journals. Ferrell, professor in the Division of Nursing Research and Education, received the award March 5 at the Annual Assembly of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine in Boston.

Ferrell has focused her clinical expertise and research on pain management, quality of life and palliative care issues. The author of five books and more than 300 articles, she is principal investigator of the End of Life Nursing Education Project, a national educational initiative to improve palliative care.

“Dr. Ferrell’s passion as a hospice and palliative researcher is both revolutionary and inspiring,” said Susan Cox, R.N., M.S.N., C.H.P.H., president of HPNA’s board of directors. “Her extensive work as a leading researcher will be felt by generation after generation of future hospice and palliative nurses.”