Dr. Waterfield obtained her BS in Biological Sciences in 1993 and MEd in 1994 from Louisiana Tech University and her BSN in Nursing in 2015 and PhD and AG-ACNP certification in 2022 from University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC). She was previously a nurse specialist for UNMC and an intensive care registered nurse. While working in the intensive care unit, she became interested in delirium and other common critical care patient symptoms which led to her research of symptom management by critical care nurses. Her dissertation research was a mixed methods study in which she conducted an ethnography of critical care nurses.

Dr. Waterfield now works for CHI Health Good Samaritan in neurology. In addition to clinical practice, she continues to conduct research on the ethical sensitivity of nurses. She is an active member of several professional organizations including American Association of Nurse Practitioners, International Association for the Study of Pain, Society of Critical Care Medicine, Midwest Nursing Research Society, Nebraska Nurses Association, American Nurses Association, American Association of Critical Care Nurses, and Sigma Theta Tau International.