Recipient of a NEF Scholarship, received an undergraduate degree in philosophy from St. John’s College in Santé Fe, NM, prior to pursuing nursing at The University of Texas at Austin. Upon attaining her registered nursing license, Susanne has been practicing in the perioperative setting with patients suffering from chronic pain. Currently working towards a Masters of Science in Nursing at The University of Texas at Austin on the Adult-Gerontology Clinical Nurse Specialist Track, Susanne has a special interest in palliative care, hospice care, and gerontology advanced practice nursing. Ms. Ristow aspires to approach patient care from the viewpoint of the American Nurses Association that posits both health and illness as natural parts of the human experience and she firmly believes in the nursing profession’s concern for viewing the human experience as more than the sum of its parts.