Background

Eileen Carter, PhD, RN, is an Assistant Professor in the University of Connecticut School of Nursing, where she teaches courses on evidence-based practice in nursing.

Carter’s research focuses mainly on the careful use of antibiotics to curb the global health threat of antibiotic resistance and on how both nurses and patients can help reduce unnecessary use of antibiotics and improve antibiotic treatment.

Carter’s interest in nursing dates back to her childhood. Her grandmother, who was living in her home at the time, had been in and out of nursing home and hospital settings. During the times when Carter would visit, she was able to witness first-hand the genuine difference that nurses made not only for her grandmother, but also for her entire family. Seeing how much of an impact nurses have on both the patients and their loved ones made Carter realize that she, too, wanted to be able to make a lasting impact on people, and nursing was the perfect career path. “After witnessing nurses in action, I knew that I wanted to be able to make a similar difference one day” she says.

Carter first gained interest in the topic of antibiotic research around ten years ago, when she was invited to participate in a working group hosted by the American Nurses Association (ANA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to help examine the role of nurses in antibiotic stewardship. “I found the topic super interesting and have been working in this area of research ever since” she says.

Involvement with CSCH

Carter was drawn to join the Collaboratory as an affiliate due to the strong emphasis on child health. “As both a nurse and a mother, I have come to deeply appreciate how vital schools are in both supporting and improving children’s health and well-being” she says. She also appreciates how the Collaboratory works to build relationships between institutions and disciplines since she finds it very important to minimize institutional silos in order to make a greater impact.

Carter currently works on a project that focuses on reported penicillin allergies among children and their access to school-based health centers. Many children are falsely diagnosed with a penicillin allergy. When a child is thought to have a penicillin allergy, they commonly receive alternative antibiotics rather than being evaluated for the allergy.

School-based health centers present an innovative opportunity to expand access to recommended penicillin allergy testing. By enabling primary care practitioners to conduct testing within the school setting, these centers may help overcome common barriers—such as limited time, space constraints, and transportation challenges—that often-hinder testing in traditional healthcare environments. Carter and her team are evaluating the acceptability of this approach and are recruiting practitioners, parents, and other key stakeholders of school-based health centers to participate in the study.

You can learn more about Carter and her research on her UConn faculty page.

Fun Facts

Carter is a master baker, known by her family and friends for her delicious homemade chocolate chip cookies. She once made 200 cookies in one day for a family gathering, and they disappeared in the blink of an eye.

Undergraduate Researcher Elena Roberts interviewed Eileen Carter and wrote this profile.