Kirsti A. Dyer MS, MS, FT - NICU Biography
Physician, Health Educator, Professor, Life Challenges Expert, Lecturer and Author

Kirsti A. Dyer MD, MS, FT, FAAETS, FACW, BCETS, BCBT, NCBF, CWS received both her Medical and Master’s Degrees from the University of California, Davis. She is a physician, grief and loss expert, professional health educator, professor, college instructor, lecturer and author. Dr. Dyer is a Fellow in Thanatology: Death, Dying and Bereavement from the Association for Death Education and Counseling, a Fellow of the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress, a Board Certified Expert in Bereavement Trauma and Traumatic Stress and a Nationally Certified Bereavement Facilitator. She has created and taught professional and graduate courses to physicians, nurses, psychologists, social workers, other health care providers and spiritual advisors in the areas of grief, loss, bereavement, trauma and facing life challenges.

In addition to her interests in grief, loss, bereavement and trauma, Dr. Dyer also has an active interest in wellness promotion. She is a Fellow of the American College of Wellness, a founding member of the Medical Wellness Association and the American College of Lifestyle Medicine.

A recognized expert in Grief, Loss and Bereavement, Dr. Dyer developed and has maintained the Journey of Hearts website, since 1997 as a website for anyone grieving a loss. Her website is the first and only physician-based website devoted to educating people about the normal grief response. In June 2006 she joined About.com, a part of The New York Times Company, and served as the expert guide for Death, Dying and Bereavement at dying.about.com until January 2007. Her About.com Death, Dying and Bereavement site remains online.

Dyer KA. My Baby's in the NICU: Now What? The Violet Heart™ Press. In publication, Summer 2007. 
Dyer KA. My NICU Baby's Dying: Now What? The Violet Heart™ Press. In publication, Fall 2007.
Dyer KA. Section on Parental Grief, The Wounded Family, Perinatal Grief, Deaths and Bereavement, featured NICU losses. HSP 5200: Grieving Family System. Graduate Course in Bereavement Certificate Program. Hospice Education Department at Madonna University. Spring 2007.
Dyer KA. For Those who Hold the Littlest Hands: Support and Suggestions for NICU/ICN Parents. Booklet/Brochure. 2005.
Dyer KA. Identifying, Understanding, and Working with Grieving Parents in the NICU, Part II: Strategies. Neonatal Network. June/July 2005; 24: 27-40.
Dyer KA. Identifying, Understanding, and Working with Grieving Parents in the NICU, Part I: Identifying and Understanding Loss and the Grief Response. Neonatal Network. May/June 2005; 24: 35-46.
Dyer KA. Observing Mother's Day with Renewed Appreciation. June 2002. MomMD.com Available at: http://www.mommd.com/momsday.shtml
Dyer KA. Observing Mother’s Day with Renewed Appreciation: Part I. Introduction. May 2002. Available at: http://journeyofhearts.org/resources/momday.html
Dyer KA. Observing Mother’s Day with Renewed Appreciation: Part 2. Learning from Crisis. May 2002. Available at: http://journeyofhearts.org/resources/momday2.html

Dyer KA. Syllabus. HSP 5200: Grieving Family System. Graduate Course in Bereavement Certificate Program. Hospice Education Department at Madonna University. Spring 2007.
Dyer KA. Forward in Dalcort P and Dalcort A. Healing Handbook: Words and Exercises to Heal the Physical, Mental and Spirtual Scars of Life. Hearst, Ontario: Infinite Solutions 4 You, 2007 (In Publication).
Dyer KA. Chocolate: Good for the Mind, Body & Spirit. Medical Wellness Journal. Spring 2006. Vol 3, No. 1, pp. 13-15. Available at: http://www.medicalwellnessassociation.com/articles/chocolate_benefits.htm
Dyer KA. Healing Qualities of Nature - Part 2. SOLACE: A Publication for Survivors of Suicide. February 2006, Vol 4, Issue 1, 3-5. Available at: http://communityservices.alachua.fl.us/new/crisis/Solace/4-1February2006.pdf
Dyer KA. Forward in Dalcort P and Dalcort A. Grief Handbook: Healing Words and Exercises To Guide You Through the Pain of Loss. Hearst, Ontario: Infinite Solutions 4 You, 2006, pp. 13-16.
Dyer KA. Healing Qualities of Nature - Part 1. SOLACE: A Publication for Survivors of Suicide. December 2005, Vol 3, Issue 6, pp 1-3. Available at: http://communityservices.alachua.fl.us/new/crisis/Solace/3-6December2005.pdf
Dyer KA. Living Through and Surviving Traumatic Events. Medical Wellness Journal. Fall 2005. Vol 2, No. 2, 5, 10-11. pp. Available at: http://www.medicalwellnessassociation.com/articles/traumatic_events.htm
Dyer KA. Identifying, Understanding, and Working with Grieving Parents in the NICU, Part I: Identifying and Understanding Loss and the Grief Response. Neonatal Network May/June 2005; 24(4):35-46
Dyer KA. Identifying, Understanding, and Working with Grieving Parents in the NICU, Part II: Strategies. Neonatal Network June/July 2005; 24(4):27-40.
Dyer KA. Grief & Loss. Dealing with Death & Grief in the Workplace. Human Resources, University of Houston - Downtown. January 2005. Available at: http://www.uhd.edu/about/hr/grief&loss.htm
Dyer KA. Writing for Wellness: Thirty Mindful Days of Enhancing Well Being. E-Journal. 2004. In publication.
Dyer KA. Listen to Your Heart, it knows the Healing Path: Learning to Live Again following a Major Life-Changing Event. E-Journal. 2004. In publication.
Dyer KA. Understanding the Impact of Loss & Grief on our Patient's Well Being: Learning How to Take a Loss History. Available at:http://www.mommd.com/loss.shtml
Dyer KA. Enhancing Well Being by Understanding Grief and Taking a Loss History. Medical Wellness Journal. October 2004. Available at: http://www.medicalwellnessassociation.com/articles/grief.htm
Dyer KA. Written Ways of Creatively Expressing Grief. In Mourning has Broken: A Collection of Creative Writing about Grief and Healing. Toronto, Canada: Kope Associates, 2004, pp. 69-73.
Dyer KA. Identifying and Supporting the Grieving Patient/Client. Grief Matters E-zine. National Grief Support Services, www.GriefSupportServices.org (In Publication)
Dyer KA. Understanding and Coping with the Emotions of Grief. Grief Matters E-zine. National Grief Support Services, www.GriefSupportServices.org (In Publication)
Dyer KA. Dealing with Death & Grief in the Workplace Part 1: Employees. Working Solutions: Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) and Work/Life Resource Programs for United Behavioral Health.
Dyer KA. Dealing with Death & Grief in the Workplace Part 2: Management. Working Solutions: Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) and Work/Life Resource Programs for United Behavioral Health.
Dyer KA. Darkness, In Memory of You, A Better Place, Downpour. Selected Poems and Commentary in Adams CA. ABC's of Grief: A Handbook for Survivors. Amityville, N.Y: Baywood Publishing Company, Inc. pp. 33-35. 41-42, 115-116, 134-135
Dyer KA. Coping with - Surviving Loss. Trauma Response. Spring-Summer 2003;9 (1):4-8.
Dyer KA. 2003. Ways of Coping: Creatively Expressing Grief. Learning Place Online.com 2003. At: http://www.learningplaceonline.com/stages/transform/coping-grief-1.htmor their new site Support 4 Change: http://www.support4change.com/stages/transformation/grieving/coping-grief.html
Dyer KA. Creatively Expressing Grief, updated and reprinted for California Hospice Foundation 2003 Spring Conference. February 2003. Available at: http://www.journeyofhearts.org/jofh/kirstimd/create_grief.htm
Dyer KA Coping with Loss During the Holidays Nov/Dec 2002 Bereavement Magazine.
Dyer KA. Observing Mother's Day with Renewed Appreciation. June 2002. MomMD Website. Available at: http://www.mommd.com/momsday.shtml
Dyer KA. Coping with the Holidays in the Year of Tragedy and Change: How Tragic Events Impact the Holiday Season December 2001. MomMD Website. Available at: http://www.mommd.com/copingwiththeholidays.shtml
Dyer KA. Good Grief! I'm Having a Charlie Brown Xmas. December 2001. MomMD Website. Available at: http://www.mommd.com/charliebrown.shtml
Dyer KA. Ten Years Later: Scrambling was definitely not The End of the World. Spring 2002. MomMD Website. Available at: http://www.mommd.com/notendof.shtml
Dyer KA. Somatic Aspects of Loss & Grief: Exploring the Mind-Body-Spirit Connections. Syllabus for Somatic Aspects of Loss & Grief Course, UC Berkeley Extension, August 2001.
Dyer KA. Ethical Challenges of Medicine and Health on the Internet: A Review J Med Internet Res 2001, June 28; 3 (2): e23 http://www.jmir.org/2001/2/e23/index.htm
Dyer KA, Thompson CD. Medical Internet Ethics: A Field in Evolution. Conference Preceedings, CD-Rom. MEDINFO 2001.
Dyer, KA. Caring For The Person, Not Just The Patient In End-of-Life Care. Dealing with Death & Dying in Medical Education and Practice. AMSA's 51st Annual Convention, Friday, March 30, 2001. Available at: http://www.journeyofhearts.org/death_dying/bob_d_d.htm
Dyer KA. Quoted by Hope Vanderberg "Conference Summary: Skirting the Issues of End-of-Life Care." Medscape Medstudents. May 18, 2001.
Dyer KA. The Road Now Taken, One Woman Doctor's Journey through medicine. Part 1, MomMD.com, March 2001. Available at: http://www.mommd.com/road.html
Dyer KA. The Road Lightly Traveled: Part-time Medicine. Part 2, MomMD.com, March 2001. At: http://www.mommd.com/road2.html
Dyer KA. The Potential Impact of CODES on Team Members: Examining Medical ducation Training. Trauma Response Fall/Winter 2001;7:19-21. Available at: http://www.aaets.org/arts/art95.htm
Dyer KA. A Granddaughter's Tribute to Her Grandmother. Last Acts Newsletter: Care and Caring at the End of Life. Winter 2000 Vol 6. p. 7.
Dyer, KA. Caring for the Person, Not Just the Patient. June 6, 2000 Open Forum Section, Last Acts Website.
Dyer KA. Thompson CD. Internet Use for Web-education on the Overlooked Areas of Grief and Loss. CyberPsychology and Behavior. 2000; 3(2):255-270.
Dyer KA. Learning to Let Go: The Patient Becomes the Teacher. Female Physician. Spring 2000 p.9.
Dyer, KA. Case for Incorporating Critical Incident Stress Techniques into CODE BLUE Teams with Residents and Medical Student Team Members. UC Berkeley Extension, Spring 1999.
Dyer, KA. Quoted by Dana James in Deep Impact The New Physician. 1999;48:16-19, 21. (An article on medical student and resident abuse issues.)
Dyer KA, Thompson CD, Reis O, Romer S. Using the Internet for Patient and Physician Web-education and Health Promotion. World Congress for the Internet and Medicine, Virtual Congress, MEDNET 1998, London, England. Electronic Poster Presentation #11. Available at: http://www.journeyofhearts.org/jofh/jofh_old/mednet_98
Dyer KA. A Cry From Within. West J. Med. 1998: 169:251-2.
Dyer KA. Healers and Healing: Learning to Let Go. 1998. Previously available at http://www.death-dying.com
Dyer KA. Are We Losing the He(art) of Medicine? California Physician 1997;14:14.
Dyer KA. The Road not Taken. West J Med. 1996;164:369-70.
Dyer KA. Warm and Fuzzy: The Magical Calming Nature of Hedgehogs. Peace of Hope. Spring 1996 Number 13, p. 7-8.
Dyer KA. "Angel" [poem] in Peace of Hope. Winter 1996. Number 12, p. 18.
Dyer KA. and Romer SK. Messages from the Heart; A Journey in Healing. Self-publication. A Collection of Poetry. Spring 1996.
Dyer KA. The Toxic Intern Syndrome Revisited: Genetics vs. Environment. Sac Med. 1996;47:16.
Dyer KA. Dr. KA .Dyer, Medicine Woman. Editorial. California Physician. 1995;12:12.
Dyer KA. They Just Fade Away. American J Med. 1995;99:321-2.
Dyer KA. The Resident's Rat Race: Do We Need Work Hour Reform? California Physician. 1995:12:32-4.
Dyer KA. Grievance Issues and Resident Abuse: Resources Available. JAMA. 1995;274:41.
Dyer KA. Resident Abuse: Time to Be Recognized. JAMA. 1995;273:288g.
Dyer KA. Interpreting Toxic Intern Syndrome. West J Med. 1994;161:192.
Dyer KA. Toxic Intern Syndrome. West J Med. 1994:160:378-9.
Dyer KA. It's Not the End of the World. JAMA. 1993;269:1184.
Dyer KA. The intolerable imperfection of medical judgement. American Medical News. June 1, 1992;35:60,62.
Dyer KA. Reshaping Our Views of Death and Dying. JAMA. 1992;267:1265,1269-70.
Dyer KA. It's O.K. Southern Med J. 1991;84:90-1.
Dyer KA. Fleeting Moments. West J Med. 1990;152:195.
Dyer KA. It's O.K. HAN 400 Gross Anatomy Syllabus, UCD. Fall 1990 to 1994, now accessible through UC Davis Medical Student's Website.
Dyer KA. Hospice: A New Elective for Ambulatory Care. Pathway News. Newsletter of the Predoctoral Education Program. (U.C. Davis) Vol VII, No. 3 Spring 1991, pp. 6-7.

The eBook My Baby's in the NICU: Now What? was developed and written by Dr. Kirsti A. Dyer, MD, MS, FT, and her husband Cole D. Thompson, a former journalist and senior web developer. The eBook is the one they wanted, but couldn't find when faced with the sudden, unexpected admission of her youngest daughter to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), or in their case the Intensive Care Nursery (ICN).

The eBook is filled with basic information, definitions, descriptions, terms, explanations and resources to help new NICU parents start understanding the strange, unfamiliar setting, language and rules of the NICU.

My Baby's in the NICU: Now What? provides new NICU parents and families with an introduction of what to expect in the NICU with enough information, resources and encouragement to reassure the Parents that they will find a way to make it through this major life challenge as a family while supporting their newest family member. For more information on My Baby's in the NICU: Now What? see the eBook's home page.

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