The Proponents: Patricia Liehr and Mary Jane Smith

Mary Jane Smith (L) and Patricia Liehr (R)

Patricia Liehr, PhD, RN 
She was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and she completed most of her education in Pennsylvania except for her doctorate which was completed at the University of Maryland at Baltimore. Dr. Liehr joined the Florida Atlantic University Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing as a Professor and the first Associate Dean for Nursing Research and Scholarship in 2004. In August, 2014, she left her Associate Dean role to assume a faculty position as a professor of nursing. She is co-author, with Dr. Mary Jane Smith, of Story Theory and the textbook, Middle Range Theory for Nursing. Dr. Liehr believes that stories are powerful entities for chronicling and creating health and her research endeavors reflect this belief. Dr. Liehr is married to Mr. Angelo J. Sands, the Florida Atlantic University men's golf coach.

Dr. Liehr's teaching draws on her expertise with theory-development and research. She has taught in the undergraduate and doctoral programs at the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing. At the doctoral level she supports student dissertation idea development through coursework and through serving as a dissertation chair. At the undergraduate level, she helps to familiarize students with research and with the pursuit of evidence to guide nursing practice.

Dr. Liehr's research focus can broadly be described as one addressing peace, both personal and global. This work includes the study of interventions such as yoga, mindfulness and story-centered care but it also encompasses the use of creative story-based approaches to bridge misunderstandings at a global level.

Mary Jane Smith, PhD, RN
She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Pittsburgh and a doctorate in nursing science from New York University.  She is professor of nursing at West Virginia University School of Nursing and teaches theory to nursing students at the master’s and doctoral levels.  Work on story theory as a guide for practice and research began in 1999.  Over the years, story theory and story inquiry method have evolved into a structure for guiding qualitative and quantitative data analysis.

The current description of story theory can be found in the third edition of the co-authored book with Dr. Patricia Liehr titled Middle Range Theory for Nursing.  It was awarded the 2014 AJN Book of the Year in the category of research. Her research has focused on adolescents who are obese and with pregnant teens.  Presently, she is working with colleagues on qualitative analysis on the following studies: the lived experience of coming back from war for women Veterans, health challenges faced by adolescents with recurrent headache, and a description of harm/loss, threat, and challenge for persons living with diabetes. She is a co-editor along with Dr. Joyce Fitzpatrick and Dr. Roger Carpenter, on a book titled, Encyclopedia of Nursing Education.

The completed work of 178 entries covering education topics from A to Z was submitted to Springer Publishing Company in the summer of 2014.  In addition, she serves as chair and member on PhD dissertation committees related to qualitative analysis.