About Susan

As an accomplished writer, Schoenbeck has had manuscripts published in journals which attract the attention of physicians and nurses from around the globe; she has also written health care pamphlets and news bulletins directed toward the general public. Schoenbeck served as editor of Nursing Innovations, a publication highlighting contemporary accomplishments in nursing. She is the recipient of many honors for her writing achievements. Letters from readers reinforce her belief in writing using language everyday people can readily understand.

Schoenbeck is also a recognized speaker in demand for lectures on near-death and deathbed experiences and spiritual care. Her audiences vary, from health-care professionals and emergency responders interested in the psychospiritual aspects of life’s final stages to community groups gathered to hear stories of people at the edge-of-death. Her speaking engagements include personal appearances as well as television and online programs.

In all of her writing and in her speaking engagements, Schoenbeck draws on years of clinical nursing, as well as reports from others relating to the edge of death. Her areas of specialty practice are bereavement, counseling the dying and their families, and nursing personnel as they face “death as a life event.”

Schoenbeck was inducted into Pi Lambda Theta, National Honor Society for Educators, and Sigma Theta Tau, International Honor Society for Nurses. She is past president of the Madison chapter of Sigma Theta Tau, Beta Eta Chapter, the International Honorary Society for Nurses, and past education director for the NW Association for Death and Bereavement. Schoenbeck founded the Wisconsin Chapter of the International Association for Near-Death Studies, Incorporated, and has spoken at International Association for Near-death Studies events She has received many awards, including The Universal Voice Award and “Wisconsin Nurse of the Year.”

---

Schoenbeck was awarded numerous awards including:

• Beta Eta Chapter, Sigma Theta Tau Research Award
• American Society for Healthcare Education and Training Chapter Project Recognition Award
• Universal Voice Award
• Best Patient Counseling Article Award (Dimensions of Critical Care Nursing)
• Wisconsin Nurses Association "Excellence in Nursing Award"- Wisconsin Nurse of the Year
• Dane County Federal Employee of the Year Nominee. (Professional/Scientific Category)
• APEX Award for Publication Excellence for Non-profit Internal Newsletter
• Ron Taylor Award for Teaching Excellence
• Team Spirit Award DeVry University Carrington College Division
• DeVry Legacy in Teaching Award
• DeVry TEACH Award
• DeVry University Ron Taylor Award for Teaching Excellence

---

Sampling of Articles:

• Visitation Needs Reported by Patients with Cardiac Disease and Their Families
• ICU Visitation Needs Survey Tools
• Near-Death Experiences in Patients Undergoing Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation
• Linking the Care of Family Members
• Called to Care: Addressing the Spiritual Needs of Patient
• Polio: Managing Its Late Effects in the Nursing Home
• Experiences of the Dying
• Zen Communication in Everyday Life