Faculty & Staff

Rebecca R. West, PhD, APN, FNP-BC

Clinical Assistant Professor
Department of Health System Science

Quad-Cities regional Program
College of Nursing
1515 5th Avenue, Suite 400
Moline, Illinois 61265

Phone: 309)757-9467 ext. 21
Email: rrwest@uic.edu

Research / Discovery
Dr. West's research questions come directly from practice where she was initially struck by patient's suffering related to psychological stress and emotion regulation. Thus, she is keenly interested in the intersection where chronic psychological stress, and principles of psychoneuroimmunology meet contemplative practices - such as mindfulness - and health, and particularly how these relationships influence the health of women and low socioeconomic populations. Dr. West is also interested in positive psychology, self-regulation, the human motivational theory known as Self-Determination Theory (SDT), and the role of Advanced Practice Nurse as health and wellness coach. During her PhD training, Dr. West was awarded a NIH T32 traineeship (2006-2008), selected for a Mind and Life Summer Research Institute Fellowship, and attended the Insight Meditation Society's working Retreat for Scientists (2008). In 2009, she was awarded a NIH-F31 Pre-doctoral Fellowship to investigate the feasibility of delivering a brief mindfulness skills training intervention among low SES workers. Dr. West has also been involved in SDT-guided studies, using APNs as coach to promote health behavior change in low SES populations (Latinas, Thai pregnant women) and among healthy community-based adults. West is highly committed to the translation of research into practice for clinicians. Thus, a larger study, combining the concepts of mindfulness training, SDT, and APN health coaching is being planned.

Teaching / Learning
Serving as a preceptor for the UIC FNP program prior to joining the faculty, Dr. West is now based in the College of Nursing - Quad Cities Regional Program and teaches in the Family Nurse Practitioner program. Dr. West is a certified hatha yoga teacher and has taught community-based yoga and beginning meditation.

Service / Practice
Since graduating from the UIC FNP program ('93), West has been in clinical practice in a rural primary care clinic. Prior to becoming a FNP, West was a public health nurse and ANCC board-certified community health specialist. Dr. West is a charter member of the Illinois Society for Advanced Practice Nurses and was a founding member in 2000 of the Quad Cities Area Advance Practice Nurse/ Physician Assistant Alliance. She has served as a member of her local county (Whiteside) Board of Health. She serves on the health and wellness committee for her local school board (Unit 6).

Personal
Becky and some friends formed a book club that has met monthly since 1993. Every summer the group takes a week-long hiatus to Michigan; to swim, beachwalk, gaze upon the lake, and indulge in their theme-based film festival. Becky also likes to travel, cook for family and friends, and enjoys activities in the outdoors such as kayaking, canoeing, bird watching, and camping. West is a mindfulness meditation practitioner in the Vipassana tradition and studies hatha yoga and Ayurveda.