Penelope Buschman Gemma attended Wheaton College (A.B., 1962), Columbia University’s School of Nursing (B.S., 1964), and Boston University, (M.S., 1967). She held faculty positions at the Columbia School of Nursing throughout her career and was Director of the Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Program. She practiced as Clinical Nurse Specialist in Child/Adolescent Psychiatry Nursing (1967-1986) and Research Nurse Clinician (1986-1994) at the Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital (formerly Babies Hospital). Her work also specialized in palliative and end of life care.

She is co-author with Joan Hagen Arnold of A child dies: a portrait of family grief, (Philadelphia: Charles Press, 1994). Buschman was member of the End of Life Care for Children research group, Hastings Center; Covener Commission Subcommittee on Health Issues, New York City Temporary Commission on Early Childhood and Child Care Programs (1991); Sigma Theta Tau, Alpha Zeta Chapter at Columbia University (1964-); Lifetime fellow of the American Orthopsychiatric Association, Inc. (1998-); and was active in a number of University committees in the School of Nursing and Children’s Hospital.

She is the recipient of the New York Maternal and Child Health Nurse Award for Outstanding Efforts in Raising the Quality of Nursing Care for Mothers and Children (1987, March of Dimes); Claire Lucille Pace Humanitarian award (1999); and American Journal of Nursing, Book of the Year award (1994).