Fertility Nursing Staff
The nursing staff is a vital component of quality fertility care. Depending on your situation, the path from initial consultation through treatment to our final goal -- a baby in your arms -- could take anywhere from a few clinic appointments to several months of regular contact by phone and in person.
Physicians are the directors of your treatment plan; nurses walk patients through the day-to-day tasks to achieve your goal.
Our nurses will become the patient's most immediate point of contact, so we choose specifically-trained professionals with qualifying experiences to serve your needs with expertise and compassion.
In addition to educating patients about all aspects of the treatment process, nursing staff will coordinate scheduling for tests, procedures, and follow-up appointments. They consult with the physicians on optimal ways to carry out the chosen treatment protocols, assist in various procedures, and act as a patient advocate.
Nursing professionals choose reproductive medicine because they enjoy providing individualized, high quality care that can change patients' lives forever. (RSC advanced practice nurses, L to R: Emily MacLeod, RN, NP, Women's Health Nurse Practitioner; Erin Geraghty, RNC, MS, NP, Women's Health Nurse Practitioner; Ann Moegle, RN, Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility; Paula Dwan, RNC, MS, NP, Women's Health Nurse Practitioner, and Christen Cabral, RNC, MS, NP, Women's Health Nurse Practitioner. (Not pictured: Elizabeth O'Shea, RN, NP, Women's Health Nurse Practitioner; and, Myra Keller, RN, Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility).
Paula G. Dwan, RNC, MS, NP, Clinical Services Manager
Paula Dwan began her tenure with the Reproductive Science Center (RSC) as a nurse practitioner in 1990, after completing her graduate education in nursing. During her years as a nurse practitioner at RSC, she has implemented many changes. She has been instrumental in expanding the clinical responsibilities of the nurse practitioners at RSC. She aligned the nurse practitioners with physician/nurse teams, in order to provide improved continuity of patient care. There are currently three full-time nurse practitioners at RSC and Paula continues to combine her roles as Clinical Services Manager and Nurse Practitioner.
In July 2004, Paula was promoted to Clinical Services Manager at the Reproductive Science Center. In this role, she oversees a staff of 30, including nurse practitioners, nurse coordinators, and medical assistants. She is responsible for staff scheduling and supervision, departmental human resources, updating clinical policies and procedures, and collaboration with other managers/departments impacting patient care. As Clinical Services Manager, she also coordinates the electronic submission of annual ART outcomes to SART and the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM).
Additionally, Paula has assisted the clinical staff in the implementation and utilization of the electronic medical records (EMR) system, ARTWorks. She participates in a national advisory board to continually update the EMR system. In this role, she is a member of a team that is developing best practice guidelines for the network.
In July 2005, RSC opened a new satellite office in Braintree, Massachusetts. Paula was involved in the implementation of this new office. She coordinated supplies, staffing, and, she will coordinate patient education materials. As this satellite office grows the services offered expand to include ultrasound and phlebotomy services for monitoring patients.
Paula received both her Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Psychology and her Master of Science in Women's Health Nursing from Boston College. She has been a certified Women's Health Nurse Practitioner for 15 years and also holds a certification in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility Nursing. Paula has been an adjunct faculty member at Boston College since 1991 and in this role she mentors graduate nursing students and provides clinical lectures to students. She is an active member of the New England Nurses for Reproductive Medicine and the New England Fertility Society. Paula’s experience as a nurse practitioner and her lengthy tenure with the Reproductive Science Center make her an invaluable resource.
Christen Cabral, RNC, MS, NP
Christen received her Master of Science in Nursing from Boston College in May 2007. Christen received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from St. Anslem's College in Manchester, NH.
During her Master's (NP) program, Christen had the opportunity to work at the Breast Care Center at the Hunt Center, Danvers, MA; the MIGS unit at NWH; Women's Health Care, Newburyport, MA; at St. Elizabeth's Hospital, Planned Parenthood League of MA, Caritas for Women, Walpole, MA, and at the Maternal Fetal Medicine Dept. at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
Prior to joining the Reproductive Science Center, she worked as an RN at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center on an inpatient GYN, GU, and surgery floor.
Elizabeth A. O’Shea, RNC, MS, NP, Nurse Practitioner
Elizabeth O’Shea is a graduate of Boston College School of Nursing where she completed the Master’s Entry Nurse Practitioner Program, specializing in Women’s Health. Her training included clinical rotations in the department of obstetrics and gynecology at Roxbury Comprehensive Community Health Center, a private obstetrics and gynecology practice in North Andover, MA, the department of obstetrics and gynecology at Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates in Wellesley, MA, and the Breast Health Center at Beverly Hospital’s Hunt Center.
After completing her program at Boston College, Elizabeth began working at a large fertility center where she developed her knowledge of basic infertility as well as her clinical skills, including telephone triage, inseminations, management of IUI and IVF cycles, and providing support and education for patients undergoing fertility treatments.
Elizabeth came to Reproductive Science Center in the role of Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner in early 2007. Her role includes direct patient care, patient education and counseling, and collaboration with physicians, nurses, psychologists, and laboratory staff. Elizabeth’s responsibilities include annual physical exams, IVF and IUI cycle management, co-management of patient utilizing donor gametes and hormone replacement therapy, telephone triage, uterine sounding, and uterine evaluation by sonohystogram. Additional responsibilities include coordination of research studies performed at RSC, serving as liaison between study sponsors, investigators, and study participants.
Prior to attending nursing school, Elizabeth received her Bachelor of Sciences degree in Biology with a pre-medical concentration from Boston College. She then worked at Dana-Farber Cancer institute for four years in several capacities, first as a Technician in the lab of Steven Burakoff, then as a Clinical Research Coordinator in the Thoracic Oncology Program.
