Marjorie Funk, PhD, RN, FAHA, FAAN

About

Professor Emerita Marjorie (Marge) Funk retired in June, 2018, having been on the faculty at the Yale School of Nursing since 1984. She received a BA in religion from Wheaton College in Massachusetts, a BSN from Cornell University - New York Hospital School of Nursing, a MSN in Medical-Surgical Nursing with a clinical specialty in cardiovascular nursing from the Yale School of Nursing, and a PhD in Chronic Disease Epidemiology from Yale University.

Her teaching responsibilities include statistics, research, electrocardiography, and clinical supervision in cardiac critical care.

In 2008, Marge received a $3.9 million grant from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute for The Practical Use of the Latest Standards for Electrocardiography (PULSE) Trial. The PULSE Trial is a 5-year, 16-site randomized clinical trial evaluating the effect of implementing American Heart Association practice standards for ECG monitoring on nurses’ knowledge, quality of care, and patient outcomes. The intervention consists of an online ECG monitoring education program and strategies to implement and sustain change in practice. The PULSE Trial is an example of translational research in which the effectiveness of an intervention in real-world clinical practice is being tested.

Her research has provided an opportunity for her to mentor both students and hospital nurses. She is Co-Chair of the Nursing Research Committee at Yale-New Haven Hospital and helps hospital nurses through all phases of the research process, including presenting and publishing.

Marge is active in the American Heart Association, the American Association of Critical-Care Nursing, and the Eastern Nursing Research Society.

Research Interests/Clinical Practice

Research Interests

The focus of Marge’s research is the wise use of technology in the care of critically ill patients with heart disease. She has examined the appropriate and safe use of technology, its equitable distribution, and the human-machine interface. The use of a particular type of technology – electrocardiographic (ECG) monitoring – is a thread throughout her research career.

Clinical Practice

Professor Funk has clinical affiliation with the Cardiac ICU, Yale-New Haven Hospital.

Selected Publications/Presentations

Publications

Giuliano, K.K., Danesh, V., & Funk, M. (2016). The relationship between nurse staffing and 30-day readmission for adults with heart failure. Journal of Nursing Administration, 46(1), 25-29.

Rose Bovino, L., Funk, M., Pelter, M.M., Desai, M.M., Jefferson, V. Andrews, L.K., & Forte, K. (2015). The value of continuous ST-segment monitoring in the emergency department, Advanced Emergency Nursing Journal, 37, 290-300.

Honan, L.H., Funk, M., Maynard, M., Fahs, D., Clark, J.T., & David, Y. (2015). Nurses’ perspectives on clinical alarms, American Journal of Critical Care, 24, 387-395.

Sandau, K.E., Sendelbach, S., Fletcher, L., Frederickson, J., Drew, B.J., & Funk, M. (2015). Computer-assisted interventions to improve QTc documentation in patients receiving QT-prolonging drugs. American Journal of Critical Care, 24, e6-e15.

Funk, M., Clark, J.T., Bauld, T.J., Ott, J.C., & Coss, P. (2014). Attitudes and practices related to clinical alarms. American Journal of Critical Care, 23, e9-e18.

Funk, M. & Cassidy, G. (2014). 20 things you didn’t know about electrocardiography. Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing, 29, 8-9.

Winkler, C., Funk, M., Schindler, D.M., Zegre Hemsey, J., Lampert, R., & Drew, B.J. (2013). Arrhythmias in patients with acute coronary syndrome in the first 24 hours of hospitalization. Heart & Lung, 42, 422-427.

Feder, S. & Funk, M. (2013). Over-monitoring and alarm fatigue: For whom do the bells toll? Heart & Lung, 42, 395-396. PMID: 24183197.

Sendelbach, S. & Funk, M. (2013). Alarm fatigue: A patient safety concern. AACN Advanced Critical Care, 24, 378-386.

Lever, N.M., Nystrom, K.V., Schindler, J., Halliday, J., Wira, C., & Funk, M. (2013). Missed opportunities for recognition of ischemic stroke in the emergency department. Journal of Emergency Nursing, 39, 434-439.

Presentations

“Use of Monitor Watchers: Survey Results” Presented at: AAMI Foundation: National Coalition for Alarm Management Safety, Annapolis, MD, July, 2016 (Invited)

“Are We Over-Monitoring?” Presented at: AAMI Foundation: National Coalition for Alarm Management Safety, Annapolis, MD, July, 2016 (Invited)

“Clinical Alarm Management” Presented at: The World Congress on Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, June, 2015 (Invited).

“Improving Electrocardiographic Monitoring: The PULSE Trial” Presented at: 27th Annual Scientific Sessions, Eastern Nursing Research Society, Washington, DC, April, 2015.