DiAnn Ecret

DiAnn Ecret serves as Chair of the Nursing Department and Associate Professor of Nursing at Ave Maria University, with additional part-time work as a Catholic Ethicist at the National Catholic Bioethics Center. Boasting over 30 years of clinical experience across neonatal, pediatric, and adult critical care nursing alongside 15 years of teaching in graduate and undergraduate nursing programs, she integrates deep clinical expertise with academic leadership.

Her educational foundation includes:

• B.S. in Nursing from Wilmington University
• M.S.N. in Nursing Leadership/Education from Wilmington University
• Ph.D. in Health Care Ethics from Duquesne University

Dr. Ecret's research centers on bioethical decision-making across the lifespan, particularly for patients, families, and communities navigating complex ethical dilemmas. Her work uniquely fuses Catholic moral theology with nursing practice, emphasizing inherent human dignity through explorations of reproductive grief care, adolescent mental health crises, and Christian spirituality's role in clinical settings. This interdisciplinary approach bridges theological ethics with practical healthcare challenges.

Analysis of her 2019-2023 publications reveals consistent focus on Catholic bioethics applied to contemporary healthcare crises, spanning neonatology, pediatrics, mental health, and institutional ethics. Her scholarship demonstrates how theological virtues illuminate difficult medical decisions while addressing systemic issues like professional silence in hierarchical healthcare structures.

Dr. Ecret actively contributes to ethical discourse through volunteer consultancy for Be Not Afraid and Naples Community Pregnancy Clinic, alongside developing educational resources like her "Catholic Bioethics: Current Issues" course that trains future healthcare professionals in ethical reasoning grounded in Catholic tradition.