About
Kirsten Buen (she/her) is a registered nurse and PhD candidate at the UCLA School of Nursing. Her dissertation focuses on using Constructivist-Grounded Theory methodology to understand contributors to the complexity of delivering specialty palliative care, particularly from the perspectives of clinicians and stakeholders. She has a Masters in Nursing from UCLA, a Masters in Bioethics and Health Policy from Loyola University in Chicago, and she completed a fellowship in clinical-medical ethics at the University of Chicago. Prior to her doctoral studies, she worked clinically in oncology and palliative care and her research interests are grounded in the intersections between theory and practice at the bedside. She is strongly committed to quality care and in previous roles, alongside her colleagues, she spearheaded several policy initiatives and quality improvement efforts to improve serious illness communication among nurses and residents.
Research Interest:
Palliative Care, Serious Illness Communication, Clinical Ethics, Moral Distress, Clinician Wellness, Critical Inquiry and Emancipatory Methods, Quality Improvement