APU Professor Catherine Heinlein Receives Prestigious Fulbright Award

From May 2027 to May 2028, Heinlein will conduct a three-phase research project at the Mission of Mercy School of Nursing in Kolkata, India. She will visit Kolkata for eight weeks from May to July 2027, four weeks in December and early January 2027-2028, and one last time in May 2028 as part of the Fulbright’s FLEX option. Heinlein will use a modified version of the Watson Caritas Self-Rating Score survey, developed by Jean Watson, a nursing theorist and founder of the Watson Caring Science Institute. The survey will be administered to about 30-40 first-year nursing students, second- and third-year nursing students, and one-year post-graduates and working nurses from Mission of Mercy School of Nursing to see whether caring behaviors change over time as they progress in their nursing education and enter a professional environment. Additionally, participants will be invited to participate in individual interviews to further explore nursing civility and identify areas for improvement in the profession. Heinlein aims to gather data to determine how a shift toward mutual civility among nurses impacts healthcare culture, patient care, and staff wellbeing. She will follow the Institutional Review Board (IRB) process in compliance with all applicable requirements.

“There is an international code of ethics that nurses are to follow, so this study is applicable to all countries. It is a pilot study that will drive the course curriculum. Based on our results, we will have a better idea of how to develop curricula and utilize Watson’s resources in a classroom environment,” Heinlein said.

I’m humbled to be a part of such a big project. This is an agreement between the U.S. and India to help each other in education in a peaceful way. If we have policies about civility that are not being adhered to on a global scale, I hope to generate this concept of kindness and well-being and pass it on to the next generation of nurses.

Catherine Heinlein ’10, MSN ’21, EdD, RD, MS, CDE, RN

This is Heinlein’s second Fulbright Award. In 2017, she was given a sabbatical through APU. Heinlein’s study in India focused on a train-the-trainer model to provide education and experiential learning to Mission of Mercy School of Nursing students, preparing and equipping them to run a community-based diabetes self-management program.

Heinlein earned a bachelor’s in nutrition and dietetics at California State University, Los Angeles, and a master’s in nutrition science from the University of Southern California. She also earned a doctorate in education and organizational leadership at the University of La Verne before completing a bachelor’s (BSN) and master’s in nursing (MSN) at APU. Heinlein intertwines her expertise in nutrition and nursing to focus on patient and practitioner well-being. She is a member of APU’s faculty who has taken nursing students to the Mission of Mercy Hospital on short-term study abroad trips since 2008.

The Fulbright Program awards only about 900 grants per year to university faculty and administrators out of thousands of applicants. APU boasts more than 70 Fulbright Awards offered to faculty, students, and alumni since 2002.

Since its inception in 1946, under legislation by the late Senator J. William Fulbright, the Fulbright Program has provided more than 400,000 people with the opportunity to observe others’ political, economic, educational, and cultural institutions, to exchange ideas, and to embark on international ventures of importance. The program operates in more than 150 countries worldwide.