Teaching: Dr. Thomas teaches graduate students in the adult nurse practitioner, acute care nurse practitioner, and post-masters acute care nurse practitioner programs. She serves as Track Coordinator for the Acute Care Nurse Practitioner track.
Research and Scholarly Activities: Dr. Thomas’ research interests include the investigation of interventions and physical and psychosocial factors that impact symptom management and the quality of life in adults with acute and chronic exacerbations of end-stage lung disease. She has conducted symptom management research studies in acute care and community settings.
Service: Dr. Thomas currently holds membership in the Florida Nurses Association, Gerontological Society of America, Phi Kappa Phi National Academic Honor Society, Sigma Theta Tau International Nursing Honor Society, and Southern Nurses Research Society.
Clinical practice area/expertise: Dr. Thomas’s clinical expertise is in adult medical-surgical and critical care nursing. She is nationally certified as an acute care nurse practitioner and as an adult nurse practitioner.
Education: Dr. Thomas received her BSN in Nursing at the University of West Florida. She received her MS in Adult Health Nursing, Post Master’s Adult Nurse Practitioner Certificate, and her PhD in Nursing with a minor in Gerontology at the University of South Florida. She also earned a Professional Certificate in Gerontology at the University of Florida.
Selected Publications:
Thomas, L. (in press). Effective dyspnea management strategies identified by elders with end-stage COPD. Applied Nursing Research. (accepted for publication, April 2007).
Thomas, L. (2007). Dyspnea management strategies in older adults with COPD: A global
perspective [Symposium Abstract]. The Gerontologist, 47(Special Issue I), 677- 678.
Thomas, L. (2006). Voices of elderly women with end-stage COPD living alone [Symposium Abstract]. The Gerontologist, 46(Special Issue I), 573-574.
Thomas, L. (2005). Effective dyspnea management strategies identified by elders with end-stage COPD [Abstract]. The Gerontologist, 45(Special Issue II), 123.
Thomas, L. (2004). COPD dyspnea management by family caregivers. Dissertation. Electronic access: http://www.lib.usf.edu/ETD-db/theses/available/etd-11172004-165831/
Thomas, L. (2000). Article reviewed in commentary: Brook, AD et al. (1999). Effect of nursing-implemented sedation protocol on the duration of mechanical ventilation. Critical Care Medicine, 27, 2609-2615. Published in Evidenced Based Nursing, 3(2), p. 82.
