Natalie May, PhD
Natalie May, PhD joined the University of Virginia (UVA) School of Nursing faculty after more than 30 years as associate professor of research in the UVA School of Medicine. She began her work in the clinician well-being space as a founding member of the UVA Center for Appreciative Practice. Certified as an appreciative inquiry facilitator, and lead author of the book Appreciative Inquiry in Healthcare, she enjoys developing appreciative inquiry projects and leading appreciative practice workshops at her home institution and beyond.
An experienced qualitative researcher, she has extensive experience in grant writing, program and curriculum development, and program evaluation. Her current research projects include the Mattering in Healthcare study and the Cultures of Mattering in Healthcare Education study, with colleagues Julie Haizlip, Katy Hall, Usmaan Bashir, and faculty from the Medical College of Wisconsin. She is currently interviewing early career nurses as part of an experience mapping project at UVA Health to identify the rewards and stressors that impact retention.
May was an investigator for the Wisdom in Medicine Project: Mapping the Path Through Adversity to Wisdom, a study funded by the John Templeton Foundation, co-author of Choosing Wisdom: The Path Through Adversity, and co-producer of the PBS film; Choosing Wisdom. She co-developed and implemented an innovative curriculum for medical students, The Phronesis Project, designed to foster wisdom in young physicians, and has implemented a similar program, Wisdom in Nursing, in the School of Nursing.
In 2021, with co-authors, Dorrie K. Fontaine and Tim Cunningham, Natalie published the American Journal of Nursing award-winning textbook Self-Care for New and Student Nurses; the 2nd edition will be released in summer, 2024. She is lead author of the popular Self Care for Nurses: Small Doses for Wellness (Sigma, 2023) May is also project manager for a HRSA-funded grant Wisdom and Wellbeing Peer Support Training, which is designed for healthcare providers and first responders at UVA and across Central Virginia.
She earned a BA in economics and urban studies from Wellesley College, a MA in creative writing from Boston University, and a PhD in educational research from the UVA School of Education. May lives in Richmond, Virginia, with her husband, Jim, a substance abuse services director for Richmond Behavioral Health Authority, and has a son, Jamie, who is enrolled in a PhD/DVM program in Blacksburg, Virginia.