FACULTY PROFILE

STELLA ROSTKOWSKI, PH.D.
Capella University


In the 2015 winter semester at Capella University, she completed her doctoral study, which examined why employees with carpal tunnel syndrome do or do not complete their employer-sponsored Return to Work program. Dr. Rostkowski did this through the use of a constructivist grounded theory approach, which utilized semistructured interviews, open-ended interviews, and observations in order to learn about the essence of this disease. The experience she had with interviewing participants was amazing. Each one came into her study with a story to tell and when they left, she was and is am a better Doctor for knowing them. She does not believe her work with this disease is finished, as a matter of fact, she believes it is only the beginning. However, if she has learned anything from this experience, she has learn in order to effectively treat any disease, you have to treat the human aspect of the disease if you want to help the person ‘heal’.