UPCN Alumna at UCLA
Tales of successful Filipino nurses mostly abound in clinical nursing practice. But this edition featured a successful nurse destined for something else and in fact, on a higher level.
Dr. Lorraine Evangelista, RN Ph.D has carved a name for herself in the West Coast. And for many Filipino nurses in that part of the United States, they have a colleague in one of California's prestigious universities who is on the cutting-edge research of patients with heart disease.
1. Before coming to UCLA, tell us briefly about your professional journey as a nurse.
I actually graduated from the University of the Philippines College of Nursing in 1980 and immediately came to California that same year. I worked as a nursing assistant while I prepared for the RN board exams then later worked as a psych mental health nurse under my interim RN license. I used to love psych mental health nursing so much – in fact I wanted to be a psych nurse so much that I chose to do my specialty training my senior year in my BSN program at PGH Psychiatric Institute (this was almost like being a full-time nurse trainee for 6 months). However, after a few months in this field, the reality that nursing care was becoming more advanced and highly technical encouraged me to go into critical care nursing. So for 8 years I worked as a staff nurse and later a charge nurse in the ICU/CCU setting. In 1991, I went back to school for my Master’s degree in Nursing at UCLA and earned a certificate to be a Clinical Nurse Specialist. This work paved the way for me to get involved in clinical trials and research and I enjoyed it so much that I went back for my PhD in 1997 and graduated with a doctorate in nursing in 2 and half years (which is a record at the UCLA School of Nursing) since the average time it takes to complete a the PhD program is 4-5 years. My dissertation focused on the compliance and quality of life of heart failure patients.
I actually graduated from the University of the Philippines College of Nursing in 1980 and immediately came to California that same year. I worked as a nursing assistant while I prepared for the RN board exams then later worked as a psych mental health nurse under my interim RN license. I used to love psych mental health nursing so much – in fact I wanted to be a psych nurse so much that I chose to do my specialty training my senior year in my BSN program at PGH Psychiatric Institute (this was almost like being a full-time nurse trainee for 6 months). However, after a few months in this field, the reality that nursing care was becoming more advanced and highly technical encouraged me to go into critical care nursing. So for 8 years I worked as a staff nurse and later a charge nurse in the ICU/CCU setting. In 1991, I went back to school for my Master’s degree in Nursing at UCLA and earned a certificate to be a Clinical Nurse Specialist. This work paved the way for me to get involved in clinical trials and research and I enjoyed it so much that I went back for my PhD in 1997 and graduated with a doctorate in nursing in 2 and half years (which is a record at the UCLA School of Nursing) since the average time it takes to complete a the PhD program is 4-5 years. My dissertation focused on the compliance and quality of life of heart failure patients.
2. What are your activities at UCLA College of Nursing? Research? Teaching? Community Service?
As a UCLA faculty member I continue to build on my research program – which is to focus on the nutritional aspects surrounding heart failure patients – with emphasis on those that are overweight and obese.
3. What are the opportunities for potential Filipino nurses in the area of nursing education in the US? What are your motivations as a nurse educator?
With the nursing shortage there is definitely so much opportunities for Filipino nurses here in the U.S. I actually have a lot of Filipino nurses who come back for the advanced practice programs (MSN) here at UCLA and I really help them reach their goals. I like to teach and support students (especially Filipino students) because I know that they will be the backbone of nursing in the future. I want to help motivate them to be the best that they can be because it helps the community learn to appreciate nurses in general.
4. Any alumni involvement back home.
I went home 2 years ago to speak to the student nurses at U.P. and inspire them. However, other than this, I haven’t really done much. I do plan to start extending my research to Filipinos and Pacific Islanders in the near future (I am currently submitting grant proposals to National Institute of Health for extramural funds)… once I receive the money I can be more versatile and can actually actively pursue some type of collaboration with nurse researchers back home and encourage them to work on a multi-site project… I think I have a lot to share in terms of mentorship and research experience and I have a lot to learn from them in terms of reconnecting with my culture and tradition.
From her self-evaluation, she wrote nicely about her motivations. And summing it up:
"In my first six years at the university, I have distinguished myself from my peers by my intellectual curiosity, my time management skills, and my high level of productivity. I believe that I have contributed to a greater understanding of the biobehavioral aspects in nursing care of cardiovascular patients. I am working on gaining external support for my research. My future plans include further NIH grant submissions to support my research in the areas of developing and testing interventions that target overweight and obese heart failure patients. My mentors have described me as a translational scientist who is committed to improving the lives of patients with heart disease and I must admit that this commitment is what motivates me as a researcher and leader. I look forward to a highly successful academic career. "
