Teresa Kelechi. Skin temperature and chronic venous insufficiency. 2003;30:17-24.
Dr Teresa J. Kelechi is an assistant professor of Nursing at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) and nursing research director of the General Clinical Research Center (GCRC) at MUSC. She received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from Kent State University, her MSc degree in gerontologic nursing from Case Western Reserve University, and her doctorate in nursing from University of South Carolina/Medical University of South Carolina. She is a board-certified gerontologic clinical nurse specialist and a certified wound care nurse. Among her numerous memberships, Dr Kelechi is a member of Sigma Theta Tau, Wound Ostomy Continence Nurses Society, and the Society for Vascular Nursing. She has been awarded the Sigma Theta Tau Gamma Omicron Chapter New Investigator Award, South Carolina Nurses Foundation Ruth A. Nicholson Research Award, and the South Carolina League for Nursing 2003 Award of Excellence. Most recently, she was awarded the 2004 Palmetto Gold Award for Excellence in Nursing.
Dr Kelechi's research interests include the use of infrared thermometry to detect the potential for stasis ulcer development in individuals with chronic venous insufficiency. She is also pursuing a clinical intervention for the healing of leg ulcers related to chronic venous insufficiency. Clinically, she has an active foot and wound care practice at MUSC. She also developed and teaches the foot care course for registered nurses through the college of nursing and has developed a manual, book chapter, and videotape series related to foot care. Dr Kelechi is a frequent national lecture on topics related to venous insufficiency and foot care. She was recently awarded a grant from the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Nursing Research, to conduct a study on skin temperature and perfusion in venous disease.
She teaches in the undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs at the college of nursing and is the coordinator for the clinical nurse specialist track.