M. Rebecca O'Connor

Dr. Rebecca O'Connor is an Associate Professor and Marilee Rasmussen Endowed Faculty Fellow in the University of Washington School of Nursing, and Director of the AWARE^TM (Assumption Watch to Actively Reduce Errors; formerly IBIAS™) National Collaborative. Dr. O’Connor works to combat the impact of assumptions made by health care professionals that contribute to clinical errors, disparities, and harm in nursing and beyond. As an inaugural Betty Irene Moore Nurse Leaders and Innovators Fellow, she developed AWARE^TM, an innovative patient safety program that equips nursing students with evidence-based skills to interrupt assumptions during patient encounters. This nationally recognized program has been implemented across multiple institutions, training over 800 students, faculty, and nurses, with demonstrated success in improving how students provide nursing care. Dr. O’Connor’s research also led to the development of the Inclusive Research Model and Best Practices for Equitable Research guide, used by interdisciplinary research teams across five Western states, and has trained over 250 health sciences students and researchers in equitable research practices. Her work was recently featured in the award-winning documentary "Everybody's Work: Healing What Hurts Us All," reaching more than 6,000 healthcare professionals nationally. Her excellence in teaching has been recognized through multiple local student-nominated awards and nationally through the Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action’s 2024 Equity-Minded Nurse Educator Award and she was named a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing in 2025. Dr. O'Connor earned her BA in Philosophy and PhD in Nursing Science from the University of Washington and her BSN from New York University.