Fast Facts for Pediatric Primary Care

Kristine Ruggiero PhD, MSN, RN, CPNPNurse Practitioner, Nurse Scientist, Nursing ProfessorEmail Dr. Ruggiero at Kristine.ruggiero@childrens.harvard.eduDr. Kristine Ruggiero's career in nursing began when she graduated from Yale University as a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner in the Primary Care Track, with a special concentration in Pediatric Chronic Illness Management. After her son was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect (CHD), Dr. Ruggiero obtained her doctorate and focused her research on the care coordination of children with chronic illness, specifically the care of children with heart defects. Her research validated that understanding a parent's perceptions of their child's health status is important as parents drive healthcare utilization in the pediatric setting.Dr. Ruggiero has extensive clinical experience as both a pediatric nurse and pediatric nurse practitioner in various inpatient and outpatient acute care and primary care settings. Currently Dr. Ruggiero practices clinically at Boston Children's Hospital.Dr. Ruggiero is also actively involved in research and presents her research nationally and internationally. She is a Nurse Scientist at Boston Children's Hospital in the Department of Medicine. Dr. Ruggiero has also held academic appointments for the last fifteen years and serves currently as an Assistant Professor of Nursing at MGH Institute of Health Professions teaching in both the Pediatric Nurse Practitioner and Accelerated BSN programs.