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Kelly Smith’s journey to becoming a palliative care nurse started with a craniotomy. 

Her own craniotomy.

It was 2011, and Smith, now a registered nurse at VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center and VCU Health, had earned her bachelor's and master’s degrees in English and was pursuing a doctorate in English literature. She was working as a teacher and a freelance writer and editor when she woke up one morning with blurred vision to the point that she couldn’t read or drive.

A visit to the doctor confirmed the unimaginable: An inoperable brain tumor.

But, as a young mother of a toddler, Smith refused to believe this was the end. She sought other opinions, posting about her diagnosis on social media until she was connected to the neuroscience department at the Johns Hopkins Hospital where she underwent a successful craniotomy to resect the tumor.

After she woke up in the ICU, Smith was overwhelmed by the compassionate care of her nurses during such a difficult situation. It was then, she said, that she knew almost immediately her life’s trajectory would change.

“I want to be a nurse,” Smith said. “I said to myself, ‘this is what I want to do.’” 

Six months later, she was taking prerequisites for nursing school.

“I jumped into anatomy and physiology with a shaved head, and the rest is history,” said Smith, who is now the nurse manager of the Thomas Palliative Care Unit at VCU Medical Center, which celebrated it’s 25th anniversary in May 2025 as a world-renowned leader in palliative care delivery, education and research.

Smith has been awarded the Paul Alton Dresser Jr. Palliative Care Nursing Education Scholarship, which will support her continued growth in that role.

The Dresser Scholarship was established in 2017 by Julie Baxter, a retired palliative care nurse who benefited from professional development opportunities throughout her own career. She and her husband Paul Dresser like to give gifts of time, experience or treasure. When Dresser funded a scholarship in Baxter's name at the University of Mary Washington Foundation, she wanted to reciprocate the tribute and named a scholarship in honor of him that helps provide nurses with more opportunities for professional development and education.

Baxter was inspired to make this gift in part because of how much she wanted to support the wonderful nurses who had chosen hospice and palliative care, a field that she and her husband knew was so very important, yet often undervalued. She understands how vital professional development can be in an emotionally challenging specialty and hopes the scholarship will provide opportunities for nurses at VCU Health.

For this year’s recipient, Kelly Smith, it means an opportunity to seek new knowledge and inspiration from an annual convening of hospice and palliative care providers.

“I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to expand and invigorate the care we provide on the unit,” said Smith, who is currently working toward a master’s degree in nursing. “[After returning] from the interdisciplinary conference, I [led] lunch-and-learn sessions for my colleagues so we [could] all benefit from the conference’s offerings.”

Baxter said she was impressed by Smith’s plan to put the scholarship to use to attend the Annual Assembly of Hospice and Palliative Care conference in Denver in February 2025 — not just for herself, but also for others on the palliative care unit. 

“I know it [was] a wonderful experience for her to go to the annual conference,” said Baxter, who remembers purchasing DVD recordings and handouts when she attended the same conference in the past because they were helpful to share with colleagues back home. “The forward thinking, persistent pioneers of the palliative care movement who created the body of science and certification are aging out and retiring, and I’m excited there are Kelly Smiths coming along!”

If you would like to make a gift to the Paul Alton Dresser Jr. Palliative Care Nursing Education Scholarship, please contact Andrew Hartley, senior director of development in the VCU Office of Medical Philanthropy and Alumni Relations, at 804-628-5312, or aphartle@vcu.edu.   

This was repurposed from an article originally published by MCV Foundation.