Karen J. Foli, PhD, RN, ANEF, FAAN

Education
PhD    University of Illinois, Urbana/Champaign, IL
MSN    Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN
BSN    Indiana State University, Terre Haute, IN
AD      Indiana State University, Terre Haute, IN

Work and Education
Dr. Foli is a Tenured Professor and the inaugural Louise Herrington School of Nursing Endowed Chair for Mental Health Nursing.

Research
Dr. Foli’s theoretical and empirical orientations surround the mental health of adoptive, kindship, and foster parents, as well as nurses and the specific traumas they experience. Dr. Foli’s first theory of parental postadoption depression has positioned her as an international expert in this area. Her second middle-range theory, the theory of nurses’ psychological trauma, ties directly to issues of the workplace and nurse’s well-being. With continual funding, Dr. Foli has received four Center for Regulatory Excellence grants from the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) to investigate nurses with substance use issues and the impact nurse-specific psychological traumas and the regulatory environment have upon their recovery. She has presented her work to various constituencies, including the NCSBN: Scientific Symposium, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, the American Academy of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau, and the Midwest Nursing Research Society. She is an award-winning author, mentor, teacher, and nurse scientist, who has received over $2 million in funding as a principal investigator/project director. 

Selected Publications

Books
Foli, K. J. & Thompson, J. R. (2019). The influence of psychological trauma in nursing. Sigma Theta Tau International Publishing. * First Place Nursing Education and Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing 2019: Wolters Kluwer, Health, and the American Journal of 

Foli, K.  J. (2017). Nursing care of adoption and kinship families: A clinical guide for advanced practice nurses. Spring Publishing Company. * 2018 Award for Media by the American Psychiatric Nurses Association. 

Jason, L. A., Olson, B. D., & Foli, K. J. (2008). Rescued lives: The Oxford House approach to substance abuse. Haworth Press. 

Peer-Reviewed Journal Papers (Select)
Gill, M., & Foli, K. J. (2024). Application of the middle-range theory of nurses’ psychological trauma to nurse practitioners. Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 20(7), 105033. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nurpra.2024.105033

Foli, K. J., Forster, A., Bostic, L. A., Zhang, Z., Zhang, L., & Stone, L. (2024). Predictors of substance use risk in nurse anesthetists. Journal of Addictions Nursing, 35(1), E15-E27. doi: 10.1097/JAN.0000000000000551

Chiu, Y-C., Forster, A., Zhang, L., & Foli, K. J. (2023). Nurses’ psychological trauma and cognitive control in the COVID-19 pandemic. Sage Open Nursing, 9, 2377960823121460. https://doi.org/10.1177/23779608231214601

Foli, K. J., Choflet, A., Matthias, D., Mercer, M., Thompson, R. A., & Squires, A. (2023). The power of the language we use: Stigmatization of individuals and fellow nurses with substance use issues. Research in Nursing and Health, 46(1), 3-8. https://doi.org/10.1002/nur.22295

Foli, K. J., VanGraafeiland, B., Snethen, J. A., & Greenberg, C. (2022). Caring for nontraditional families: Kinship, foster, and adoptive. Journal for Specialists in Pediatric Nursing, 27, e12388. https://doi.org/10.1111/jspn.12388

Foli, K. J. (2022). A middle-range theory of nurses’ psychological trauma. Advances in Nursing Science, 45(1), 86-98. doi: 10.1097/ANS.0000000000000388 

Foli, K. J., Forster, A., Bostic, L. A., Zhang, Z., Zhang, L., & Stone, L. (2022). Nurse anesthetists: Current perceptions and practices related to substance use. Journal of Nursing Regulation, 12(4), 23-34. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2155-8256(22)00008-4

Complete List of Published Works: 
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/1lEE9sxZamzAz/bibliography/public/

Selected Presentations

Foli, K. J., Wang, Y., Adams, N. M., & Coto, J. (upcoming: October 2024). Nurses in recovery from substance use: A grounded theory study [Accepted podium presentation]. 38^th Annual American Psychiatric Nurses Association Annual Conference, Louisville, Kentucky.

Foli, K. J., Harris, E. K., L., Adams, N. M., Huang, W., Becker, L. M., Swartzell, K. L., & Kang, S.  (upcoming: October 2024). Advanced practice nuRses’ opioid use disorder education through a massive open online course (APROUD-MOOC) [Accepted poster presentation]. 38^th Annual American Psychiatric Nurses Association

Foli, K. J. (2021, November 6-10). Healing from nurses’ psychological trauma and supporting nurse well-being [Podium presentation]. Sigma Theta Tau International, Biennial Convention, Indianapolis, Indiana.

Foli, K. J., Forster, A., Zhang, L., & Chiu, Y-C. (2021, November 6-19). Voices from the COVID-19 frontline: Nurses’ trauma and coping [Podium presentation]. Sigma Theta Tau International, Biennial Convention, Indianapolis, Indiana.

Teaching, Leadership, Clinical
Dr. Foli’s teaching experience spans thirty years and is marked with multiple teaching awards. She was the inaugural director of the PhD in Nursing program at Purdue University and continues to mentor PhD and DNP students. Her work is also integrated into national educational guidance. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) Essentials (2021) toolkit for “Domain 1: Knowledge for Nursing Practice” outlines specific approaches for nurse educators, including areas where various specific theories may be integrated into curricula. Dr. Foli’s theories are among those relevant in the domain of “Personal, Professional and Leadership Development (Toolkit page 9). 

Leading an interdisciplinary team and with funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Dr. Foli has created two massive, open-access online courses (MOOCs): 

Nurses’ Substance Use Education Through a Massive Open Online Course (NSUE-MOOC): https://attcnetwork.org/centers/global-attc/news/nurses-substance-use-education-mooc. To date, approximately 27 schools of nursing across the country have downloaded this open access, innovative curriculum. 

Advanced Practice NuRses' Opioid Use Disorder Education Through a Massive Open Online Course (APROUD-MOOC) via Canvas Commons,: https://lor.instructure.com/resources/94d62098c7bc4f63b5acd26281275be8?shared

Honors and Awards (Select)

Dr. Foli is a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing (2016; AAN-FAAN) and the Academy of Nursing Education through the National League for Nursing (2021; NLN-ANEF). Other awards include: 

• Faculty Engagement Fellow Award, Office of Engagement, Purdue University, Spring 2023
• Graduate Level Excellence in Mentoring Award, Purdue University School of Nursing, Spring 2022
• Book of Great Teachers, Purdue University, Inducted December 2018
• Sigma Theta Tau Honor Society of Nursing, Delta Omicron Chapter: Outstanding Mentorship Award, 2017

Committees, Memberships, and Community Service

Dr. Foli sits on the editorial boards of Adoption Quarterly and the Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association (JAPNA). She is a member of the American Nurses Association, the American Psychiatric Nurses Association, the National League for Nurses, and Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society. She is an advisory board member and blogger to Nursology.net, an internationally reaching, independent organization devoted to the advancement of nursing knowledge. She has served on multiple academic committees, including the PhD Committee, the Research Committee, and the Research Advisory Council. Her pastime activities include attending services at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in West Lafayette, Indiana, and spending time with her three adult children and their spouses, her husband, and three dogs.