Maureen O’Rourke, PhD, RN, has been an oncology nurse for over 25 years. She earned her BSN cum laude from St. Joseph’s College, Maine, in 1980. After serving 5 years in the United States Air Force Nurse Corps, she completed her MS in Oncology Nursing, summa cum laude, with a minor in education, at the University of California, San Francisco. In 1997, Dr. O’Rourke earned her PhD in Nursing, with a focus on adult oncology, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Dr. O’Rourke has been an active member of the Oncology Nursing Society since 1982, and has twice served as VP of the Oncology Nursing Certification Corporation. A founding co-editor of the Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing, and current member of its review board, Dr. O’Rourke is also an Associate Editor for the medical journal Cancer Investigation. She is a frequent contributor to the nursing professional literature, having authored numerous manuscripts and book chapters, most recently a chapter in the ONS Core Curriculum, 4th edition, and the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Source Book for Nurses.

Dr. O’Rourke is currently an Associate Clinical Professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Medicine at Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC, where she makes her home.