"I remember as a child of 8 years being called to sit by my grandmother's hospital bedside," said Cheryl Taylor, PhD, MN, BSN, RN. "She was perceived as a demanding patient by staff, but even at that age I was frustrated by the care she received."

Her grandmother advised her not to criticize the nurses, just become a better nurse. A few years later, Taylor decided to pursue nursing through an LPN program offered at a local high school.

"It was serendipitous actually that I decided to pursue nursing," Taylor mused. She had no idea her career choice would help change the lives of many other women.

A Qualitative Walk in Their Shoes

Taylor was encouraged to further her nursing education, so she earned a BSN at Dillard University, and later was recruited for the University of Washington in Seattle master's in nursing program, where she received her degree in systems-oriented community mental health.

In 1987, Taylor received funding as an ANA Ethnic Minority Fellow and was encouraged to concentrate her doctoral research on homelessness or HIV/AIDS, two key areas of health disparities. She decided to focus on homelessness and chronic mental illness while at Texas Woman's University in Denton, TX.

To contextualize her research on homelessness, Taylor actually lived on the streets in Dallas for 5 days and nights. As part of her data collection during intake at a homeless shelter, one of the questions she asked was, "Where did you sleep last night?"

"The second homeless woman I asked that question looked at me and said, 'I didn't sleep last night; I was gang raped last night.' I removed my researcher's hat and put on my nurse intervention hat, and spent the rest of the day securing emergency healthcare and shelter for her," Taylor said.

Taylor documented some serious health issues homeless women encounter and contributed to the first generation of research studies on homeless and chronic mental illness.

Her research and nurse educator roles lead to an internship with Sen. Daniel K. Inouye (HI) in Washington, DC, where the significance of her research findings is cited in the U.S. Congressional Record.

Educator, Mentor & Community Leader

Taylor returned to the New Orleans/Baton Rouge region to teach graduate nursing and help launch the PhD in nursing program at Southern University and A&M College School of Nursing.

By the time Katrina tore through Louisiana in 2005, Taylor was working on the a research project to design, test and promote interventions to reduce cardiovascular risk factors among African-Americans.

The project was closed and relocated to Baton Rouge when many of the 1,000 study participants were evacuated. Eventually, Taylor reconnected with some of the participants and heard some amazing stories from the women who survived the storms.

"Some [participants] contacted us and we served as a clearinghouse of post-disaster and heath information for them," Taylor said. "One woman said she was strong enough from the physical activity promoted as part of the study to climb through the attic of her home to reach the roof and climb a ladder to get into a helicopter."

Today, Taylor serves as the interim chair for graduate nursing programs, the director of Office of Nursing Research and a student mentor at Southern University Baton Rouge.

Her research interests continue with reducing health disparities in vulnerable women, children and the elderly.

"[Nurses] are called to serve with care - caring is contagious and the essence of nursing," Taylor said.

Trudy Schreiner is regional editor at ADVANCE.