CEW+ admires Katharine’s passion for caregiving and names her the Christine DiFalco Euritt Scholar.

Katharine Austin is pursuing a Doctorate of Nursing Practice at the University of Michigan – Flint. Since graduating with her bachelor’s in nursing in 2017, Katharine has worked in the neonatal intensive care unit. She has dedicated her career to caring for the most vulnerable patients — newborns as young as 22 weeks. In her unit, Katharine is known as a supportive and dependable nurse who is always willing to step in and lend a hand. She takes pride in mentoring newer nurses and is a passionate advocate for skin-to-skin care, even for the most medically fragile infants.

Katharine has long dreamed of graduate school. However, her plans were put on hold when her beloved mother was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s at age 54, and Katharine made the brave choice to become her full-time caregiver. Balancing this personal commitment with her professional life has required deep emotional strength, resourcefulness, and sacrifice. Through it all, Katharine remains committed to ensuring her mother experiences joy and dignity every day, describing caregiving as a profound honor.

Katharine would like her graduate school research to focus on evidence-based practices for neonatal intensive care unit discharge readiness. She hopes her work will improve early teaching strategies for families taking home medically complex infants, drawing on her own experience and leadership in bedside education. As a future Neonatal Nurse Practitioner, Katharine hopes to continue working on her current unit. She aspires to train in neonatal transport and expand her impact beyond the hospital walls. She looks forward to one day teaching at the collegiate level, where she can help shape the next generation of neonatal nurses or practitioners.

A colleague describes Katharine as “the best nurse I know,” noting her kindness, humor, and natural inclination for caregiving. Katharine’s peers remark on her compassion and genuine concern for others, noting that she is always ready to offer a shoulder to lean on in times of need.

CEW+ admires Katharine’s passion for caregiving and names her the Christine DiFalco Euritt Scholar.