Connell School Pinnacle Lecture will look at impact of psychiatric, mental health nursing
The Connell School of Nursing’s fall Pinnacle Lecture—which for the first time will be presented in a panel discussion format—on October 28 will address the topic “Psychiatric/Mental Health Nursing and Its Effect on the Law, Forensics, and Patient Care.”
The Dr. Maureen P. McCausland Pinnacle Keynote Speakers will be CSON Professor Ann Burgess, CSON Assistant Professor Victor Petreca, and Jeff Wood, a retired personal security specialist and supervisory special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Burgess, Petreca, and Wood will bring their expertise to bear on the intersection of psychiatric/mental health and forensics, law, and patient care. CSON senior Johany Jeune, a member of the Gabelli Presidential Scholars Program, will serve as moderator. The event takes place at 5 p.m. in the Yawkey Center Murray Room.
Each semester, the Connell School brings a recognized leader to campus to speak on an issue at the forefront of health care. Pinnacle is free and open to all Boston College students, faculty, staff, and alumni, as well as preceptors and practitioners.
Dr. Maureen P. McCausland Pinnacle Keynote Speakers (from left): Ann Burgess (photo by Gary Wayne Gilbert); Victor Petreca (photo by Lee Pellegrini); and Jeff Wood.
Burgess is an internationally recognized pioneer in the assessment and treatment of victims of trauma and abuse. She, along with BC sociologist Lynda Lytle Holmstrom, co-founded one of the first hospital-based crisis counseling programs at Boston City Hospital. She then worked with FBI Academy special agents to study serial offenders, and the links between child abuse, juvenile delinquency, and subsequent perpetration. Burgess and co-author Steven Constantine published the book A Killer by Design: Murderers, Mindhunters, and My Quest to Decipher the Criminal Mind, which served as the inspiration for “Mastermind: To Think Like a Killer,” a 2024 Hulu docuseries about Burgess.
Her work continues today in the study of elder abuse in nursing homes, cyberstalking, and Internet sex crimes. She has received numerous honors including the Sigma Theta Tau International Audrey Hepburn Award, the American Nurses’ Association Hildegard Peplau Award, and the Sigma Theta Tau International Episteme Laureate Award. She was designated a “Living Legend” by the American Academy of Nursing and is the namesake and inaugural recipient of the Ann Burgess Forensic Nursing Award from the International Association of Forensic Nurses.
A board-certified advanced practice psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner, Petreca is director of the Connell School-based Center for Police Training in Crisis Prevention. His research focuses on forensic psychiatry and mental health, examining issues related to victimology, sexual trauma, sexual offending, and violent behavior. With funding from the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health, he studies jail diversion programs, working closely with law enforcement and forensic clinicians to assess and optimize behavioral crisis responses.
In his clinical work, he has conducted psychiatric evaluations and managed the mental health care of individuals in several correctional facilities. He also does psychiatric evaluations and psychopharmacological management for individuals who are under supervision of the Federal Bureau of Prisons as they reintegrate into society.
As an FBI special agent, Wood conducted complex criminal investigations targeting violent street gangs. An expert in interviewing and interrogations, violent crime investigations, and the creation of multi-agency investigative task forces, he provided expert witness testimony in federal and state courts. A United States Army veteran, Wood spent two years in the Bureau of Diplomatic Security, protecting U.S. and foreign dignitaries. He also served as assistant regional security officer in the U.S. Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He now is a program manager for Protection Strategies Incorporated.
To register for the event, or learn more about the lecture series, go to bc.edu/pinnacle.