What exactly is a space nurse? with Starr Schroeder

In this episode, WEMCast host Dr Shawna Pandya dives deep into this very question with none other than AstroRN Starr Schroeder, a nurse passionate about pioneering, defining, and developing the role of nursing in the commercial space industry as well as advocating for the continued development of space medicine in current and future space exploration. Listen in as Shawna and Starr talk about the rise of space nursing, the commercial space sector, Starr’s research on a myriad of topics including space nutrition and medical guidelines for commercial suborbital spaceflight.   Starr Schroeder is a nurse with experience in critical care, emergency nursing, and nursing management. She has since become an active participant in the space medicine community incorporating her experience in medicine into her love for space by pioneering, defining, and developing the role of nursing in the commercial space industry as well as advocating for the continued development of space medicine in current and future space exploration. Starr is a member of the Association of Spaceflight Professionals where she was co-lead for research involving medical guidelines in commercial space flight participants, currently published in Acta Astronautica. Her additional publications include chapters on Spaceflight Nutritional Support, Future Trends in Spacesuits, and The Lunar Environment in the Handbook of Life Support Systems for Spacecraft and Extraterrestrial Habitats. She currently serves as a PoSSUM 13 chair, an organization dedicated to increasing opportunity and representation for women and students in STEM. Starr graduated from Indiana University with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 1999. She is currently a Masters candidate in the Human Factors in Aerospace program at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.   Links:  IIAS PoSSUM PoSSUM13