Marion English Broome, dean emerita of the Duke University School of Nursing, passed away on June 23. She was 74 years old.
A native of Long Island, New York, Dr. Broome earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing from the Medical College of Georgia, her master’s degree in nursing from the University of South Carolina, and her Ph.D. from the University of Georgia. From 1973-2000, she served in the United States Army Nurse Corps Reserves, ultimately rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel. She was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal in 2001.
Within academia, Dr. Broome held several leadership positions at various institutions. At the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, she was a professor and vice president for research. From 2004 to 2014, she was a distinguished professor and dean of the Indiana University School of Nursing. She also concurrently served as the associate vice president for nursing at Indiana University Health.
In 2014, Dr. Broome was hired as dean of the Duke University School of Nursing in Durham, North Carolina. In the broader Duke administration, she also served as vice chancellor for nursing affairs, as well as associate vice president for academic affairs for nursing at Duke University Health System. Under her leadership, Duke Nursing rose to the top of U.S. News & World Report’s ranking as the best nursing school in the country in 2020 and 2021. She retired in 2021 as dean emerita and the Ruby L. Wilson Distinguished Professor of Nursing Emerita
Dr. Broome focused her research on developing and testing interventions to assist children cope with acute and chronic pain, informed consent and assent for children in research, research misconduct in clinical trials, and ethical dilemmas in publishing and leadership of nurse executives. She authored several books, including Transforming Leadership in Nursing: From Expert Clinical to Influential Leader (Springer Publishing Company, 2007). Now in its fourth edition, the book is widely used in nursing doctoral programs throughout the country. As a leader in the broader academic nursing community, Dr. Broome had stints as editor-in-chief of Nursing Outlook and president of the Society for Pediatric Nurses.