SCHOLAR DIRECTORY

Cidalia Vital, MS, RN, CNL, CPAN is the Magnet Nursing Program Director for Baystate Medical Center in Springfield Massachusetts. She has been involved with the Magnet program for Baystate since 2011 as one of the primary authors of their recent redesignation document. She has served on several national and state nursing boards representing the interests of new graduate nurses as a Vice President of ANA- Massachusetts from 2007-2009 as well as a Director for the American Board of Perianesthesia Nurses as a Director promoting the importance of specialty certification in perianesthesia. Cidalia has spent the last 13 years of her nursing career advancing the practice of nursing through her research on post-operative urinary retention as well as promoting lateral violence and bullying prevention through video from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. Cidalia is passionate about promoting clinical inquiry at the bedside. She has fostered over 120 clinical nurses to participate in a successful Art of Questioning Campaign which encouraged evidence based practice through PICOT. Cidalia holds a bachelor’s degree in nursing from College of Our Lady of the Elms, a master’s in nursing from University of Massachusetts Amherst and is pursuing her PhD in nursing at UMASS. She has been recognized with numerous awards for her outstanding leadership and excellence in practice. Cidalia was honored as the recipient of the Elms College Distinguished Alumni in Nursing Excellence Award in 2014. Cidalia just recently graduated from the Massachusetts Organization of Nurse Leaders Academy in the spring 2016.