Amber Welborn PhD, RN

Dr. Welborn is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Nursing. She received her PhD at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 2020 where she received the Doctoral Research Award for Excellence in Research through Sigma Theta Tau Nursing Honor Society. Her Master’s degree in Nursing Education was earned at East Carolina University in 2007 and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing also from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 2001. Prior to joining the team at Appalachian State University, Dr. Welborn taught in the undergraduate nursing program at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro and Forsyth Technical Community College. Her clinical background includes maternal/child nursing care in both inpatient and community care settings including neonatal intensive care, birthing suites, mother/baby, general pediatrics, and school health services. Her research includes both quantitative and qualitative work, with a focus on discourse analysis surrounding stigma of mothers who uses substances in pregnancy. Collaborative work with a team in Public Health Education at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro uses community embedded research to connect mothers who uses substances with perinatal support and resources over the continuum of their childbearing years. She has published in several peer-reviewed journals and presented research at regional, national, and international conferences. Dr. Welborn is a member of Sigma Theta Tau Nursing Honor Society. She also volunteers her time as a Board member for the North Carolina/South Carolina Perinatal Association and as a reviewer for peer-reviewed journals such as Journal of Neonatal Nursing and Nursing Forum. She resides in Davie county, North Carolina with her husband, two daughters, and two St. Bernard’s.

There are 5 included publications by Amber Welborn PhD, RN:

TitleDateViewsBrief Description
Intersectional Stigma and Perinatal Substance Use Services: Recognizing the Power of the Good Mother Ideal (Abstract Only) - Alternative, Oral, Poster, And Symposia Abstracts For QHR, 2019 (Vancouver, Canada) 2020 94 People with addiction disorders who receive medication-assisted treatment (MAT) face stigmatization for both their addiction and their treatment method. Many people, even healthcare providers, view MAT as replacing one drug with another, and long-ter...
Mama's Here 2018 126 Might today be life changing for this little one? Will this be the day she becomes part of a family? These questions were the highlight of my shift report on a 2-week-old, premature girl. Soon after she was born, her parents left and never returned. ...
Moral Distress Of Nurses Surrounding Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome: Application Of A Theoretical Framework 2019 1569 Topic: Neonatal nurses who care for infants with symptoms of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) may experience moral distress through conflicting professional ethics. The nurse may find it difficult to simultaneously exemplify beneficence and nonmale...
Social Stigma And Perinatal Substance Use Services: Recognizing The Power Of The Good Mother Ideal 2020 172 People who are diagnosed with a substance use disorder can experience stigmatizing interactions with health and social service providers, which may decrease both quality and continuity of care. For women with a substance-exposed pregnancy (SEP), this...
Supporting The Neonatal Nurse In The Role Of Final Comforter 2017 1502 The death of an infant in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) without the presence of family members can be a stressful event for the care nurse, who may feel obligated to provide love and comfort to the infant, in addition to medical care. The n...