SCHOLAR DIRECTORY

I am currently seeking a DNP in Adult/Gerontology from Arizona State University. I attended the University of North Carolina and received a BA in Anthropology and Psychology and a BSN in Nursing. Since then, I have worked in a variety of settings and positions, including floor nursing at the Mayo Clinic in MN, Nurse Management at Allen Hospital in Iowa, and an ICU at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Hospital. I have a strong interest in improving client/provider communication in the older adult population and hope to complete my dissertation on this topic. I currently live in sunny Phoenix, AZ with my husband and two sons. I love to travel, cook, and spend time with friends.

Currently, I am a PhD student at New York University College of Nursing with an anticipated date of completion in spring 2017. My background is in critical care nursing. My experiences in the intensive care unit sparked my interest in the association between cardiovascular disease and cognition. The desire to learn more led me to the PhD program at New York University College of Nursing. My program of scholarship explores the influence of mild cognitive dysfunction on self-care capacity in patients with heart failure. Mild cognitive dysfunction is associated with failure of self-care. Signs of mild cognitive dysfunction are subtle and often elude detection. My research focuses on the early recognition of mild cognitive dysfunction, including use of biomarkers as indicators of cognitive impairment risk. My research trajectory involves evaluating changes in cognition over time and identification of associations between cognitive change and self-care capacity. I will explore interventions that improve cognition and promote effective self-care. Presently, I work in the undergraduate department in the School of Nursing at Stony Brook University. I teach the Pathophysiology and Pharmacology courses. I am the chairperson for the Academic Civility committee and participate on the Curriculum committee. I volunteer for a local chapter of the Girl Scouts of America, our local school district, and for my church. I am proud of my affiliation with New York University College of Nursing and look forward to my future career as a nurse researcher.

Hello, my name is Andrea Fedko and I am a third-year PhD student at Indiana University (IU). My research interests are in nursing education, specifically the investigation of baccalaureate nursing students’ clinical judgment in relation to the execution of nursing actions. I received both my BSN and MSN from Winona State University in Winona, Minnesota. Before concluding the final year of my undergraduate degree, I completed a nursing internship at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. During this time, I discovered the important role of nurse preceptors and developed a passion for nursing education. It was as an intern that I began my plans for furthering my degree. After obtaining my Bachelor’s degree, I worked for three years as a registered nurse on a vascular/medical/cardiac progressive care unit at Mayo Clinic. I also received my Master’s degree in nursing education during this time. Working as a registered nurse, I was also a representative on the Unit Council, chair of the Surgical Practice Committee, and acted as a clinical preceptor for both new nurse graduates and nursing interns. I then relocated to Chicago and began my PhD coursework at IU. I now work as adjunct clinical faculty at Rush University in Chicago, where I have taught both general-entry masters’ students, as well as students in the DNP program. In addition, I have been a research assistant at IU at various times throughout the past two academic years.

Dina Ferranti received her BSN degree from Northeastern University. She is currently pursuing her PhD at the University of Miami. Her background is in public health nursing and she is passionate about working with individuals and communities experiencing health disparities. Currently, she is assisting with a study that aims to instill health promoting behaviors among pregnant mothers and another study assessing the health education needs of victims of intimate partner violence. Also, she has the pleasure of assisting with Hialeah Healthy Families, a community program funded by the Florida Blue Foundation that is working towards combatting the epidemic of childhood obesity. For her dissertation research, she would like to better understand the interrelationship between the built environment and culture in influencing health, specifically in regards to obesity.