Kim McKearnan

Kim McKearnan, PhD, OTR/L, is the Director of the Occupational Therapy Department for the Child Development & Rehabilitation Center, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, and Training Coordinator for Occupational Therapy for the LEND (Leadership & Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities) program.  Kim received her B.S. in OT from the University of Puget Sound in 1992.  After practicing in acute care, inpatient rehabilitation, and outpatient settings, she went on to get a post-professional masters degree in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation in Pediatrics from the University of Washington in 1997.  In 2004, Kim earned her Ph.D. in Nursing Science at the University of Washington.  Her diverse clinical background in pediatrics has bolstered her research pursuits in the areas of pain assessment & management in children with disabilities and global child development.  She is a member of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), the Occupational Therapy Association of Oregon (OTAO), the American Pain Society (APS), the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP), and the American Academy for Cerebral Palsy & Developmental Medicine (AACPDM). 

Dr. McKearnan’s primary research interest concerns appropriate pain assessment and management in children—particularly in children with disabilities.  She has initiated a study to examine the efficacy of a relaxation technique involving self-hypnosis for pain management associated with rehabilitative therapy activities.  She continues to collaborate with researchers at the University of Washington regarding pain in youth with physical or motor disabilities.  Kim also is developing clinical studies regarding the manifestations and management of pain in children with autism.  Other current research activities include work on development of a tool called the Warner IDEA-FS to assess functional skills in children aged birth to three years and participation on the landmark research team at Doernbecher Children’s Hospital on a Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating the safety & preliminary efficacy of central nervous system stem cell transplant for children with Batten’s Disease (also known as neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis- NCL).