SCHOLAR DIRECTORY

Biography: Shelby Pitts received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Temple University in 2001, and a Master’s of Science in Nursing from Rutgers University in 2012. As a faculty member at Rutgers School of Nursing, she serves as a Specialty Director for the Women’s Health Advance Practice Nursing Division and course coordinator for Foundations in Nursing in the Accelerated Bachelor of Science program. In addition to her academic appointment, she practices as a Women’s Health Advanced Practice Nurse at St. Peter’s University Hospital OB/GYN Ambulatory Care Center in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Currently, she attends Johns Hopkins School of Nursing as a Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP) student. The title of her DNP project is “Increasing Adherence and Self-Management among Hispanic Pregnant Women Diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus”. The purpose of the project is to provide interprofessioinal educational interventions to improve adherence and self-management behaviors of this population. It is important for providers to understand the cultural differences impacting GDM management among Hispanic pregnant women to improve pregnancy outcomes.