Marjorie Dobratz joined the faculty at the University of Washington Tacoma (UWT) in 1999, when she assumed the position of Nursing Program Director. Dr. Dobratz left the Director's position in 2008 to focus on research and teaching. She now coordinates the UWT Master of Nursing Program. Prior to her UWT appointment, Dr. Dobratz chaired the Department of Nursing at Mount St. Mary's College in Los Angeles. Known as the home of the Roy Adaptation Model (RAM), at Mount St. Mary's she began a life-long pursuit of integrating theoretical concepts within the RAM's framework. Along with her interest in adaptation nursing theory as a structure for advancing knowledge, Dr. Dobratz continues to research end-of-life issues: psychological adaptation, spirituality, terminal pain, and other hospice/palliative care concerns. Her practice experiences as a hospice coordinator, program developer, and research associate culminated in the development of the Life Closure Scale (LCS): a measure of psychological adaptation in death and dying. Dr. Dobratz also explores the impact of graduate teaching on healthcare outcomes.
Dr. Dobratz received her Doctor of Nursing Science (DNSc.) at the Phillip Y. Hahn School of Nursing, University of San Diego, her MSN and BSN from Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and her nursing diploma from the Johns Hopkins Hospital School of Nursing, Baltimore, Maryland.