This Bicolano Nurse Making Waves in the US
GFNR debuts its online publication with a stellar recognition of a Filipino nurse who made it big in education arena in the United States and will continue to reap new opportunities for himself and for his country. Ten years down the road, this Bicolano guy will surely be the man to watch.Prof. Jessie Casida, RN Ph.D received his BSN degree from Bicol University in Legazpi City in 1988, thereafter, worked at the Philippine Heart Center for a year.
1. Tell us about your career as a nurse educator from Seton to WSU.
Prior to my teaching appointment at Seton Hall University (SHU) in 2004, I was an adjunct clinical faculty at New York University from 1997 to 1999. (I received my MS in critical care nursing degree from Columbia University in 1996). My teaching career at SHU was wonderful! That teaching position had given me the opportunity to enhance my knowledge and skills surrounding teaching and learning, which I believe, made me a better teacher. Moreover, I was given the opportunity to maintain a part-time clinical practice and at the same time further my education. I completed my PhD degree while I was teaching with SHU. At SHU, my teaching responsibilities had included classroom, on-line and clinical instructions on the management of adult clients experiencing acute/critical conditions, in both graduate and undergraduate levels. I served as a course coordinator for undergraduate acute adult nursing, health assessment, and synthesis practicum. Also, I was involved with student advisement, and was a member in various college committees. I had a significant contribution in the development of the new Patient Simulation Laboratory at the College of Nursing. Following the completion of my PhD, I decided to take on another career challege, which is obtaining a faculty position in a doctoral/research-extensive university such as Wayne State University (WSU). I was hired by WSU this past June, and I am ranked as an assistant professor, tenure-track, in the department of adult health nursing. I will be teaching "Transition: Professional Nursing Practice" in the fall of 2007, primarily accelerated BSN students (second-degree students). I am excited, and looking forward to the many challenges ahead of me - being a teacher and a scholar. My 5-year goal is to obtain an RO1 funding from the National Institue of Nursing Research at NIH.
2. Aside from teaching, you are also into research. What are your research projects? What are the latest trend in your research specialty?
I've been involved in research for the past several years, as a developer as well as implementor of research projects. For example, I've developed and implemented unit-based studies on ventilator weaning protocols involving postoperative cardiac surgery patients; and CTICU nursing orientation process, which was the impetus for conducting a national survey on this topic. Furthermore, I was a coordinator/sub-investigator on several cutting-edge research involving heart failure, heart transplant, mechanical hearts and cardiac surgical procedure/equipment studies funded by the NIH, pharmaceutical and biomedical companies. While I was directly involved in the management of patients with left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) and in the process of completing my PhD, I explored, described and published the experiences of spouses as caregivers of these patients at home while waiting for heart transplant. I'm proud to say that I was the first nurse to describe such a stressfull, challenging roles and life-transforming events of these spouses. I will take this topic to the next level where I want to involve more reseearch participants, and perhaps add/refine research questions. I am also interested on the contribution of nurses in organizational effectiveness. In this context, I explored the relationship of the nurse managers' leadership styles and nursing unit organizational culture (OC) in acute care hospitals, which was derived from the conceptual framework of leadership and OC as two important explanatory constructs of organizational effectiveness. I will be presenting this research at the Nursing Management Congress in Chicago on September 16-19 this year. Currently, I am collaborating with a senior nurse-scientist at WSU to develop a research project on exploring physiologic variables that may affect the functional status of patients with LVADs. And, at the same time, I am writing a method paper, which discusses an OC measurement instrument and its implication to nurses who are involved in research and performance improvement initiatives. That having said, I am still in the process of defining my program of research, which lends itself to my previous clinical experience. It tentatively pertains to "The interplay of technology (LVAD), care systems and patient outcomes." I know I have a long, long way to go.
3. Any involvement with the local nursing communities:
Well, I just moved here in Michigan last month, and I haven't had the opportunity to reach out the local PNA folks. I was a member of PNA NY and NJ, NY and NJ American Associations of Critical Care Nurses (AACN), Organization of Nurse Executives in NJ, and Sigma Theta Tau Gamma Nu Chapter. However, I have maintained memberships in several nursing and multidisciplinary organizations over the past several years. For example, I've been an AACN member since 1991, the National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists since 1996, Society of Critical Care Medicine, and recently the American Association of Heart Failure Nurses.
