Chris Guelcher, Hemostasis RN-BC, MS, PPCNP-BC

Chris Guelcher has been a hematology/oncology clinic nurse for more than 25 years. After graduating from Georgetown University with a Bachelors of Science in Nursing she worked on an inpatient Hematology/Oncology unit at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago, Illinois and later at Mott Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Since coming to Children’s National in 1992, she has worked on the inpatient unit and in the outpatient clinic as a Hematology/Oncology nurse. After completing her Masters and becoming certified as a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, she has been the Hemophilia Nurse Coordinator at CNMC since 1997.

Chris was a member of the NHF Nursing Working Group for 3 years. She was re-elected to serve on the Region III Regional Executive Committee (REC) having served on the REC for 4 years previously. She has served as a member of the American Thrombosis and Hemostasis Network (ATHN) Board of Directors since 2008. Additionally, Chris served on the Education Subcommittee for the American Society of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology (ASPHO) and has moderated three webinars.

Ms. Guelcher was part of the Hemophilia and Thrombosis Research Society annual planning committee for the 2009 and 2010 meetings. In 2011 she helped plan and presented at the first Thrombosis and Hemostasis Summit of North America (THSNA). Chris was elected as a liaison to the THSNA Board of Directors and she was on the planning committee for the 2016 and 2018 THSNA meetings.

Chris was part of the faculty that worked with the Centers for Disease Control to develop the curriculum for the “Advanced Partners Program”. She continues to work with the faculty members to keep the curriculum current and present as part of the faculty twice a year.

Chris is active in the Association of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology Nurses (APHON), having served as an officer in the local chapter in the past. She helped plan the annual meeting when it was held in the DC area many years ago. More recently, Chris helped develop a hemophilia brochure for patients and families. She reviewed the APHON slide-sets for hematology and developed and then updated the hematology drug information sheets for parents. In 2009 Chris was a reviewer of the Hematology Scope and Standards for nurses. In 2014 she was asked to edit the now combined APHON Scope and Standards for hematology/oncology nursing which was published in 2015.

In July 2016, Ms. Guelcher published “Evolution of the Treatments of Hemophilia” in the Journal of Infusion Nurses. In 2017, Chris co-authored, “US haemophilia centre nurses and advanced practice providers: Demographics, roles/responsibilities, training, educational barriers and employment benefits” with Michelle L. Witkop, Margaret Hall, Jennifer Maahs in the Journal of Haemophilia Practice. She also worked with an international group of nurses to publish “Principles and theory guiding development and delivery of patient education in disorders of thrombosis and hemostasis: Reviewing the current literature” in Research and Practice in Thrombosis and Haemostasis with Julia Hews-Girard, Jennifer Meldau, Ellen McDonald and Fiona Newall. Chris recently updated the chapter on Inhibitors for the National Hemophila Foundation’s Nursing Handbook (to be published later this year).

Ms. Guelcher has been an invited speaker at a number of meetings including a plenary sessions at the 2012 THSNA meeting, the World Hemophilia Federation congresses in Melbourne Australia in 2014 and Glasgow in 2018, National Hemophilia Foundation (NHF) meetings in 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2018. In 2015, Chris presented at the Infusion Nurses Society annual meeting, the NHF annual meeting and the APHON annual meeting. In 2016 Chris was selected to represent the United States HTC nurses on the World Federation of Hemophilia Nurses Work Group.

Chris was the recipient of the Trish Dominic Award in 2018 for her dedication and service to the ATHN Board and the bleeding disorder community. In 2013 Ms. Guelcher was invited to participate in The American Nurse Project, a photojournalism project depicting the various roles of nurses from across the country. There is an interview that accompanies the picture and a video clip from the interview on the website.

Chris was promoted to be the Lead for the fifteen Advanced Practice Providers in the Divisions of Hematology and Oncology within the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders at Children’s National Health System in 2017.
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