When Brooke Gore receives her doctoral degree from Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Nursing this spring, it will be the first time she actually walks down the aisle at graduation.

“I have never officially graduated,” said Gore, who was winning a state tennis tournament on the day of her high school graduation and had to watch her James Madison University ceremony remotely due to the COVID pandemic.

At VCU, Gore is earning her Doctor of Nursing Practice degree, reflecting a professional path that stemmed from her parents’ careers in health care.

“They recommended a career in nursing because there were so many career paths and varieties of opportunities that nursing offers,” she said.

After graduating from JMU in 2020 with a nursing degree, Gore came to VCU Health and began working in the surgical trauma intensive care unit. Earning her D.N.P., which focuses on clinical practice, will let her expand her relationship with patients and take a more diagnostic approach to their treatment.

“I always knew I wanted to go to nurse practitioner school,” she said. “I wanted the advantage of having a clinical perspective on how to diagnose and treat patients and to understand the why behind treatment plans.”

I always knew I wanted to go to nurse practitioner school. I wanted the advantage of having a clinical perspective on how to diagnose and treat patients and to understand the why behind treatment plans.

In pursuing her D.N.P. part-time, Gore could continue working as a nurse during her studies. She now works in the ICU float pool and can be assigned to any of those units at VCU Health.

The challenge and reward of Gore’s four-year program at VCU has been framed largely by her involvement in the Strength in Caring Project, a research initiative funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration that has included VCU’s School of Nursing, School of Medicine and VCU Health.

“This grant funded my doctoral project,” she said.

The project addresses burnout by looking at the variables of leadership, psychological safety, engagement, and personal and organization wellness at VCU Health. The grant team is led by clinical professor of nursing Carla Nye, D.N.P., and Lisa Ellis, M.D., who serve as the principal co-investigators.

Gore has been working as the D.N.P. student project lead with Dana Burns, D.N.P., clinical associate professor at the School of Nursing, who has been impressed at Gore’s openness to new ways of learning and resilience.

“Brooke is able to pull people together, and she enjoys working in a team,” Burns said. “She has excellent leadership skills and team dynamics. She’s also excellent at complex, chronic disease as well as dermatology.”

Gore would like to stay at VCU and practice in dermatology.

“I had a lot of issues with my skin when I was younger, so I have a personal connection,” she said. “If that doesn’t work out, I would love to do primary care where I could focus on preventative care and patient education for all age groups. I just enjoy helping and educating people before they have a problem.”