In 2009, Registered Nurse Daniela DeFrino authored the work “A Theory of the Relational Work of Nurses,” which was published in Research and Theory for Nursing Practice: An International Journal. In the piece, she explored where nurses hold their professional power and stressed the importance of relational work to help nurses avoid burnout and patient detachment. In 2003, DeFrino wrote “What Makes NPs Politically Active?” a piece that appeared in The Nurse Practitioner. Prior to that, she published “Nurses Exchange Clinical and Cultural Ideas” in Nursing Spectrum and “Characteristics of Political Activity of Nurse Practitioners in Illinois” in Chart, a peer-reviewed publication of the Illinois Nurses Association. Daniela DeFrino has also written grant proposals for nurses and earned continuing education hours from the College of DuPage in a course called Grant Writing for Nurses. A sought-after speaker as well, DeFrino presented at the Rizzoli Orthopaedic Institute in Bologna, Italy, delivering a speech in Italian entitled “The American Nursing Experience” at the International Nursing Convention.

Daniela DeFrino attended Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where she made the Dean’s list and earned a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Italian Language and Literature. Her next educational pursuit took her to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, where she received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing through an accelerated program for students with degrees. At the University of Illinois at Chicago, Daniela DeFrino earned her Master of Science in the Family Nurse Practitioner program and completed a thesis, “Exploring Political Activity of Nurse Practitioners.” Presently, she attends Loyola University Chicago, where she is pursuing her PhD in Nursing at the Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing.

In addition, Daniela DeFrino holds years of clinical and recruiting experience obtained in positions at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas, and the University of Illinois at Chicago. At these institutions, DeFrino held positions including Coordinator of Nursing Development, Clinical Nurse Educator, College of Nursing Clinical Instructor, Staff Nurse, and Assistant Nurse Recruiter.

Daniela DeFrino has won recognition from Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas, which presented her with the Nurse of the Year Award; she has also gained acceptance to the international nursing honors society Sigma Theta Tau International. When she is not busy with her doctoral studies, DeFrino sets aside time for charitable activities and donates generously to The Salvation Army and the Greater Chicago Food Depository.