Senior Research Specialist, End of Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC) project

Karen Contreras, RN, MSN, PHN, OCN is a Senior Research Specialist on the End of Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC) project in the Nursing Research and Education Division at City of Hope in Duarte, CA. The ELNEC project is a national and international nursing education initiative to improve end-of-life and palliative care.  Ms. Contreras received her Master of Science degree in Nursing from California State University, Fullerton.  Previously she worked at Loma Linda University Cancer Center as an Oncology Nurse Navigator and for Southern California Kaiser Permanente as a Breast Care Coordinator. Ms. Contreras’s interests are in end-of-life education, quality-of-life care, and the spiritual needs of hospice and palliative care patients and their families. She is the author of Negotiating a Win-Win Solution, an immersion simulation scenario for nurse leader orientation and is certified in Instructional Design Technology with an emphasis on curriculum design using web-based platforms. Ms. Contreras is currently the President of the Inland Empire Chapter of the Oncology Nursing Society and serves on the American Cancer Society, Desert Sierra Region, Community Leadership Committee. She is past Event Chair of Loma Linda Relay For Life and is on the steering committee of the Inland Empire Coalition on Access to Cancer Care. In addition, Ms. Contreras serves on the board of the Southern California Association of Continuity of Care.

To reach me call 626-256-HOPE (4673).

My Expertise and Interests:

• Nursing, Research and Education