Sheryl Leary

Sheryl Leary, Isabel Hampton Robb scholarship winner, is pursuing her doctoral degree at the University of San Diego while working as a clinical nurse specialist at the Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System. As a military spouse she has moved frequently and held various nursing positions, including staff nurse, academic educator and clinical nurse specialist in a variety of clinical settings throughout the country and raised two children. Sheryl's area of research is Mantra Repetition, a portable, contemplative coping strategy. Mantra Repetition is a sacred and spiritual phrase silently and oft repeated throughout the day to train attention and passively redirect unwanted thoughts. These programs have demonstrated significance with Veterans with PTSD. Families and caregivers have benefitted from this program. Her dissertation evaluates the efficacy of this program on burnout among healthcare workers where stress is a major concern.