NEW NEWS!

WEB SITE CREATED:
The Cardiac Psychology
Research Lab at East
Carolina University has
created a new web-
site for patients, health-
care providers, researchers,
etc. who are interested in
the care of ICD patients.
This site was modeled 
after the University of
Florida's Cardiac Psychology
Lab's web site. The ECU
site can be accessed by
clicking here.

Samuel F. Sears, Jr., Ph.D.

Dr. Sears is Professor and Director of Health Psychology at East Carolina University.  He holds joint appointments in Department of Cardiovascular Sciences and the Department of Psychology.  He is a nationally recognized expert in the psychological care and quality of life outcomes of implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) patients and has published over 75 articles in the medicine literature on the psychological aspects of cardiology.  His co-authored book with Dr. Wayne Sotile, You Can Make a Difference:  Brief Psychosocial Interventions for ICD Patients and Families, has been distributed to over 4, 000 health care providers worldwide.  Dr. Sears is the principal investigator on funded grants related to psychosocial treatments for ICD patients.   Dr. Sears was honored by his peers by being awarded the “Early Career Contributions to Psychology Award” by the Florida Psychological Association in 1998.  He received five Teacher of the Year awards for both Research and Classroom teaching from the students of his department. Dr. Sears is married to Staci Evans, his wife of 14 years, and they have two sons, Jackson and Brandon, and live in Greenville, NC.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Ph.D.             University of Florida, Gainesville, FL (1995)

                           Major: Clinical and Health Psychology

                           Minor: Medical Psychology

 

Residency      University of Mississippi Medical Center/Veterans Affairs (1994-95)
                          Medical Center Consortium, Jackson, MS

 

M.S.               University of Florida, Gainesville, FL  (1992)

                          Major: Clinical and Health Psychology

 

B.S.               University of Florida, Gainesville, FL (1990)

                          Major: Psychology

 

See Dr. Sears' vita

CURRENT RESEARCH

Dr. Sears is currently overseeing research projects conducted at East Carolina University and the University of Florida. These studies are examining:

• Shock Acceptance Strategies: Sedation in DFT Testing
• The Female Perspective: Women & ICDs
• Peri-Operative ICD Patient Education
• Psychosocial Adjustment of Young ICD Patients
• Acute Patient Response to ICD Shocks
• Patient Perceptions of ICD-OptiVol Technology in the Treatment of Heart Failure
• Sleep Quality and ICD Patients

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

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Sears Researches Psychological Care for Heart Patients - Dr. Sears was featured in the October Edition of East Carolina University's Pieces of Eight Faculty and Staff Newspaper. "A nationally recognized leader in the psychological care of implantable cardiac devices has joined the faculty of East Carolina University", commented Jennine Manning Hutson, author and interviewer. The article highlights Dr. Sears contributions to the care of cardiovascular patients. Additionally featured in the interview was Dr. Wayne Cascio, professor of internal medicine and chief of cardiology at the Brody School of Medicine. He stated, "There's a natural connection between his [Dr. Sears] work and the East Carolina Heart Institute. We have immediately found a home for him in the cardiopulmonary rehabilitation and heart failure clinic of Healthsteps." Further mention is made of the collaboration between Dr. Sears and prominent members of the medical community in Greenville, including Dr. Mariavittoria Pitzalis, who holds expert status in the areas of heart failure and electrophysiology. To read the entire article, click here.

The ICD Stress and Shock Management Program: Interview with Dr. Sam Sears, Jr., Ph.D. - Dr. Sears  and colleagues (2007) recently published an article titled The ICD Stress and Shock Management Program:A Randomized Trial of Psychosocial Treatment to Optimize Quality of Life in ICD Patients, which demonstrated that structured interventions for shocked ICD patients involving education and cognitive- behavioral strategies reduced the psychological distress and improved the quality of life of these patients. EP Lab Digest recently interviewed Dr. Sears in regards to his work and this article. To read this interview, click here.