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MSN Faculty

Our faculty are experts in their fields and dedicated to the Great Commission of Jesus Christ to share the Gospel and care for all of God’s people.

Main Nursing department number: (949) 214-3280

Mary Bowman

Assistant Professor of Nursing

Mary Bowman has been a nurse for over 30 years. During that time, she has been blessed to work in a variety of nursing positions. She worked in ambulatory care settings for both primary and obstetrical/gynecological units. In acute care, she worked in labor and delivery, postpartum, high-risk antepartum and cared for the newborn. She worked in a leadership role as a nurse manager for sixteen years for Women’s and Children’s Services in a hospital setting. She developed a service line called “Transitions for Women” caring for the inpatient and outpatient breastfeeding mothers, and created an oncology boutique for oncology patients. Mary has developed curriculum and taught a variety of classes to physicians, nurses, new graduates, and patients for over 30 years. She is an AWHONN Intermediate Fetal Monitor Instructor and presented a poster presentation on fetal kick counting at an Association of California Nurse Leaders conference.

Education

She received her Bachelors of Science in Healthcare Management at Chapman College in 2006 and completed her MSN in Nursing Education at Walden University in 2013. Mary joined Concordia University Irvine as a full-time faculty in May, 2014.

Teaching

She teaches leadership theory, research, and maternal/infant health preceptorship and seminar for the ABSN program. She is the Course Coordinator for Senior Preceptorship and leads the Academic Faculty Student Affairs committee. Additionally, she has taught leadership theory for the MSN and RN to BSN programs. Aside from teaching, Mary enjoys traveling and making memories with her family.

  • Boyle, Miki, DNP, APRN, AGPCNP-BC, PMHNP-BC, ACHPN
  • Concordia-Spectrum Campus
  • (949) 214-3275
  • [email protected]
Miki Boyle

Assistant Professor of Nursing

I am a dual-certified nurse practitioner with Adult-Geriatric Primary Care with specialty certification in hospice and palliative care and Psychiatric Mental Health. Other nursing experiences include critical care, telemetry, medical-surgical oncology, and employee health. I enjoy volunteering in the community both locally and globally. Locations of the medical mission include Tijuana, Ensenada, and Sinaloa State, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, and various California cities.

Education

  • Post-Master’s Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Certificate, Western University of Health Sciences, 2022
  • Doctor in Nursing Practice, Brandman University, 2019
  • Post-Master’s Adult-Geriatric Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Certificate, University of California, Irvine, 2014
  • Master of Science in Nursing, California State University, Fullerton, 2009
  • Bachelor of Science in Nursing, California State University, Fullerton, 2008
  • Bachelor of Art in Business/Finance, California State University, Fullerton, 1999

Teaching

  • Adult Medical-Surgical Nursing
  • Advanced Medical-Surgical Nursing
  • Community Health Nursing
  • Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing
  • Senior-level Preceptorship
  • Skills/Pharmacology Lab / Open Lab
  • Student Success Coordinator
  • Wellness-Alternative Therapies Nursing

Research

Cultural competency in hospice care: An effect of online cultural diversity training in hospice interdisciplinary team as measured by the cultural competence assessment survey

Publications/Presentations

  • Poster presentation, Sigma Thera Tau International, Southern California Conference, Eliminating confusion in skills lab: An innovative approach, 2012
  • Poster presentation, Sigma Thera Tau International, Upsilon Beta Chapter Induction Ceremony, Nursing instructors’ “tool box”: Teaching strategies to facilitate the critical thinking skills, 2008
  • Cottle, Terry , DNP, RN, CNS
  • Concordia-Spectrum Campus
  • (949) 214-3279
  • [email protected]
Terry Cottle

Adjunct Professor of Nursing

Biography

Terry Cottle began her nursing career in 1979 when she received her BSN from Loma Linda University School of Nursing. She worked in a variety of hospitals and healthcare settings in San Bernardino and Orange Counties. She completed an MSN in Community Health Nursing and received a School Nurse Services Credential in 2004. Terry has been full-time faculty and Assistant Director for Concordia University Irvine in the Nursing Department since 2008; she teaches in the ABSN, RN to BSN and MSN programs. She participated in transitioning the RN to BSN courses to the online format and wrote several of the courses. She completed her Doctorate in Nursing Practice in 2016 with a focus on Nursing Leadership.

In her free time, Terry enjoys reading, traveling and spending time with family.

Education

  • Doctor of Nursing Practice, 2016
  • Master of Science in Nursing, 2004
  • Bachelor of Science in Nursing, 1979

Research

  • 2016: Cultivating nurse job satisfaction through authentic use of Watson's Theory of Caring
Dr. Carol Holt

Professor of Nursing

Carol's RN experience includes critical care nursing for adult neurosurgical, trauma, open heart, transplant and general critical care patients; as an advanced practicing nurse experience as a Heart Transplant Coordinator and as a Pediatric Cardiovascular Clinical Nurse Specialist.

Program development, administration and instructor at Concordia University.
China Mission Trip 2014
American Heart Association Membership
American Holistic Nursing Association Membership
Active volunteer at St. Juliana Church in Fullerton

Education

  • Doctorate of Philosophy in Nursing, University of California at Los Angeles, 2005
  • Master of Nursing, Medical/Surgical Nursing Concentration in Critical Care, University of California at Los Angeles, 1989
  • Bachelor of Science Nursing, University of Tulsa, Tulsa Oklahoma, 1982

Committees

  • Chairman, Assessment Curriculum & Evaluation (ACE) Committee

Teaching

  • Advanced Medical/Surgical Nursing Theory and Clinical
  • Pathophysiology in RN to BSN and MSN Programs
  • Advanced Preceptorship Clinical and Seminar
  • Wellness Alternative Therapy
  • Leadership Theory and Clinical RN to BSN

Research

  • Editorial Board Member; Journal for the American Association of Critical Care Nurses, 2004-now
  • IRB Committee Concordia University; evaluate research applications, develops protocols and guidelines. 2016-2019
  • Weight as a Determinant of Survival in Patients With Heart Failure, Poster Presentation Sigma Theta Tau Conference, Carol Holt RN MN and Lynn Doering RN PhD, October 2001
  • Health and Well-Being of Children in Rural China. Concordia University President’s Showcase. Carol Holt, PhD., RN, CNS – Faculty Mentor & Phyllis Alvarez, RN, Spring 2015
  • An Investigation of the Influences of Planned Exercise on Food Selection in School Age Children. Dissertation for partial fulfilment for UCLA School of Nursing doctorate degree, 2005
  • Weight as a Determinant of Survival in Patients With Heart Failure, Carol Holt RN MN and Lynn Doering RN PhD, Poster Presentation Sigma Theta Tau Conference, Spring 2001
  • The Effect of Cardiopulmonary Bypass on Lung - Surfactant of Newborn Infants. A. Alkallay MD.......C. Holt. RN....J. Pomerance MD. Cedars Sinai Medical Center. Data collector & wrote portion of protocol, 1992 – 93
  • Nursing Strategies to Allow Early Discharge After Cardiac Transplantation: Is It Safe? Carol Holt RN MN……Hillel Laks MD. Principle Investigators. Poster presentation at International Heart Transplantation conference, April 1990
  • Collected data & computer input for NANDA diagnosis of the dying patient. Research Assistant, Jan-June 1989
  • Catastrophic Events and Their Concentration of Occurrence Around Change of Shift. Master's Thesis, UCLA, June 1989

Publications/Presentations

  • Wellness Assessment Content for Nursing Curriculum; Poster Presentation, American Holistic Nursing Association 38th Annual National Conference; Niagara Falls, New York, June 2018
  • Wellness/Prevention Content for Nursing Curriculum; Oral and Poster Presentation, NETNEP 2018 7th International Nurse Education Conference; Banff Canada, May 2018
  • Wellness/Prevention Content for Nursing Curriculum; Poster Presentation, ATI Summit 2018, Salt Lake City Utah National Conference; May 2018
  • Speaker at St. Joseph’s yearly symposium; The Future of Healthcare. Lecture title: Wellness Assessment; Preventative Care. October 2014
  • Health Tips column for Concordia school newspaper, 2011-12
  • Weight as a Determinant of Survival in Patients With Heart Failure, Poster Presentation Sigma Theta Tau Conference, Carol Holt RN MN and Lynn Doering RN PhD, October 2001
  • Holt, C., The Care of Children. Chapter 16: Alterations in Cardiovascular Status. W. B., Saunders Co. March 1998. pg 781-862.
  • Sludge Can Be A Drudge; Hepatic Failure, 22nd Annual Critical Care Symposium, AACN Tulsa Chapter. February 1996
  • Holt, C., Clinical Care Plans for Pediatric Nursing. Contributing Author - Eating Disorders. McGraw-Hill, April 1994.
  • Congenital Heart Disease, Pediatric Continuity of Care Coalition, San Diego, July 1994
  • Congenital Heart Disease, Pediatric Continuity of Care Coalition, San Diego, July 1994
  • Congenital Heart Disease & Cardiovascular Assessment, Peds-CCRN Review, Children's Hospital of Orange County, October 1994
  • Cardiopulmonary Assessment , Scripts La Jolla Hospital, San Diego, California, March 1994
  • Preparing a Child for Cardiac Catheterization. Symposium, Cardiac Catheterization in Children, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA; Physician/Nursing Conference, February 1992
  • Holt, C., Gaskill, L., Case Studies in Neuro Science Critical Care Nursing Chapter 6, Spinal Cord Injury, Aspen Publishing. 1991, pg. 104 - 44.
  • Congenital Heart Disease in the 90's; Lillian & Harvey Silbert Perinatal Conference; Cedars Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, February 1991; Physician/Nursing Conference
  • Nursing Strategies to Allow Early Discharge After Cardiac Transplantation: Is It Safe? (poster presentation), Carol Holt RN MN,...Hillel Laks MD.; Tenth Annual Meeting of the International Society for Heart Transplantation. April 1990
  • Nursing & Coordination in Cardiac Transplantation. Carol Holt ......Barbara Schulman RN. (panel discussion); International Heart Failure & Transplantation Symposium; UCLA School of Medicine (medical conference), January 1990
  • Catastrophic Events and Their Concentration of Occurrence Around Change of Shift (poster presentation), Second Annual UCLA School of Nursing and Gamma Tau Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau Nursing Research Day. June 1989.
  • Omery, A., Holt C.. Time and Time Perception. Emphasis on Nursing Fall 1989, 3:2.
  • Smythe-Padgham, Cheryl, DNP, RN, WHNP-BC
  • Concordia-Spectrum Campus
  • (949) 214-3635
  • [email protected]
Dr. Cheryl Smythe-Padgham

Assistant Dean and Director of Nursing

Dr. Smythe-Padgham joined Concordia University Irvine in 2017 and serves as the Assistant Dean and Director of Nursing. She began her career as a labor and delivery nurse over 25 years ago. She went on to attain her Masters of Science in Nursing and Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner license in 1992 and worked in both private and community care settings in Orange and Los Angeles counties practicing primarily in underserved communities in order to serve the needs of women, mothers and babies. In 2009, she began her career in academia as a nursing faculty member. During her tenure, she served as an Assistant Dean and Interim Dean. She now proudly serves as the Assistant Dean/Director of Nursing in the Concordia Department of Nursing.

Education

  • Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP), Southern California State University Consortium
  • Master of Science in Nursing and Women's Health Nurse Practitioner, University of California, San Francisco
  • Bachelor of Science in Nursing, University of Southern California

Teaching

  • Women’s Health Care
  • Physical Assessment
  • Foundations of Nursing
  • Leadership/Management

Research

DNP project: Nurse Practitioner’s knowledge and use of the internet for adolescent health information

Publications/Presentations

  • (2016) contributions were added to the textbook Transcultural Nursing: Assessment and Intervention by Dr. Joyce Newman Giger.
  • (2015, March) Poster presentation of research at CANP Conference, Newport Beach, CA
  • (2014, November) Poster presentation of research at STTI Odyssey Nursing Research Conference, Ontario, CA
  • Vega-Belluscio, Elizabeth, DNP, RN, CNE, CHSE
  • Concordia-Spectrum Campus
  • (949)-214-3555
  • [email protected]

Assistant Professor of Nursing / Simulationist

Nursing has been a dream and calling for me since I was four years old. While serving in the military as a computer technician, I studied nights and weekends to meet the prerequisites to get accepted into nursing school. Upon graduation from a traditional BSN nursing program with a minor in Nutrition, I was deployed to an overseas naval hospital in the Mediterranean area where I served for a term.

Labor & delivery was the bedside specialty area of my choice for twelve dynamic years. Academics recruited me with a post card asking “Could you see yourself as a Nursing Educator?” So I went back to school for a Masters with a specialty in Nursing Education. I entered the classroom as a lecturer in an Associate’s Degree program back east with additional areas of responsibility as the skills & sim lab coordinator. Certification as a Nurse Educator and in Healthcare Simulation Education followed.

Externally, I serve as a current member of the National League for Nursing, the Society for Simulation Health, the International Nursing Association Simulation Clinical Learning and Sim GHOSTs. I am a reviewer for the Journal of Christian Nursing. Internally, I serve on the Institutional Review Board and the Academic Faculty and Student Affairs committee, where I champion teamwork & collaboration.

I promote the military for the wealth of cultural diversity, educational opportunities, and the lifelong comradery of the uniformed services. Volunteering for Concordia Serves and Angel Tree with Mission Hills Church is my kiddo therapy and service to the Orange County, California community at large. Ministry service to the worship team at Mission Hills Church is ongoing and a creative outlet.

Education

  • Doctor of Nursing Practice, Union University, 2014
  • Master of Science in Nursing, Walden University, 2006
  • Bachelor of Science in Nursing, University of Rhode Island, 1993

Certifications

  • Certified Healthcare Simulation Educator (2018)

Teaching

  • Clinical Nurse Educator for Preceptorship, Community Health and Maternal/Child Health.
  • Facilitation of clinical-simulation based learning activities using simulation best practices for student-learners in the sophomore, junior, and senior levels in an ABSN program.

Research

  • Graduate research projects: Preconception Care: Building awareness for folic acid intake before you get pregnant (2006)
  • The exploration of how to retain aging nurse faculty and recommendations from deans and directors of nursing programs (2014)

Publications/Presentations

  • Journal article published in Journal of Christian Nursing, Divine Appointment (2015).

Nursing Staff

Shannon Stoneham

Operations Administrative Coordinator

Biography

Shannon is the Operations Administrative Coordinator for Concordia University Irvine's Department of Nursing. In her role, she provides administrative support in the day to day operations of the Department of Nursing including but not limited to creation and maintenance of nursing courses, schedules, calendars, and student registration and matriculation. Additionally, she collaborates with Human Resources on the interviewing, hiring and onboarding of Nursing Department candidates.

  • Caterinicchio, Maria Jean, MSN, RN, NE-BC
  • Concordia-Spectrum Campus
  • (949) 214-3614
  • [email protected]
MJ Caterinicchio

Assistant Director, Academic Clinical Partnerships

Biography

Maria-Jean, “MJ”, is the Assistant Director of Academic Clinical Partnerships for Concordia University Irvine. In her role, Ms. Caterinicchio provides leadership in implementing and managing relationships with both current and future clinical partners. She is responsible for building clinical partnerships, identifying and generating new clinical agency opportunities and managing the clinical partnerships to ensure that student learning and course objectives are being met.

Maria-Jean has extensive leadership experience in healthcare, working for nonprofit, community and university teaching hospitals as well as within a national professional nursing organization, the American Association of Critical Care Nurses. Maria-Jean has significant experience in designing, implementing and evaluating systems to support strategic and organizational initiatives, leading project teams and facilitating organizational change.

Jennifer Mallender

Clinical Coordinator

Jennifer (Jen) is the Clinical Placement Coordinator for Concordia University Irvine's Department of Nursing. In her role, she provides support to the students and faculty of the Department of Nursing including clinical placement assignment to meet the affiliation requirements. Jennifer has a Bachelor of Arts in Advertising and Graphic Design from Grand Canyon University.

Lab Manager

Biography

Melissa Scharfe joined Concordia University Irvine in 2021 and started as the lab technician to the Nursing department. She has since risen in her ranks to the Lab Manager that supports Simulation, Skills, Pharmacy, Health Assessment, and Community Health. Melissa started her healthcare career as an Emergency Medical Technician. She has been part of multiple international startups to underprivileged communities, while teaching undergrads the skills of triage. In 2015 Melissa started her move to the formal educational institutes and was part of supporting surgical anatomy for graduate level healthcare departments in Southern California schools.

Education

  • Master of Science in Medical Sciences, Southern California University of Southern California University of Health and Sciences (2023)
  • Master of Science in Public Health, West Coast University (2019)
  • Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience, University of California, Riverside (2011)

Research

  • Mesenchymal stem cell growth in the presence of signaling paths from oncogenes (2011)
  • Cortisol effects on the body in relation to the stress from extreme courses (military use). (2011)
  • Surgical advancements for the purpose of education basic skills (2015-2020)

Publications

  • (2022) contributions were added to The Posterior Atlantooccipital Membrane: The Anchor for the Myodural Bridge and Meningovertebral Structures by: Dr. Frank Scali

Nursing Admissions Team

Henny Halim

Associate Director of Graduate Admissions

Biography

Henny Halim joined Concordia University Irvine in 2008 as a student for the MBA graduate department. Her unique ability to speak 6 languages (Bahasa Indonesia, English, Chinese-Mandarin, Chinese-Taiwanese, Indonesian - Javanese and Cantonese) was a great help when she then decided to come back and start her career with the Admissions team as the only admission counselor in Nursing. From there she has risen within the years at Concordia to the Associate Director of Graduate Admissions for Nursing and Healthcare programs (2021). In this time Henny has been a significant part of the expansions of cohorts and secondary site for the Nursing department. Henny will be starting an Ed.D. program in Organizational Leadership beginning of Fall 2023.

Henny was elected to be a member for Concordia Staff Council (2022) and was elected as Vice Chair (2023).

Education

  • Master of Business Administrations, Concordia University Irvine, 2008
  • Bachelor of Science in Microbiology, California State University Long Beach, 2006
Brian Tressler

 

Biography

Born and raised in Southern California, Brian is a local of the Orange County landscape. He came to Concordia University Irvine with a strong background in higher education and serves as an Admissions Counselor for the School of Health and Human Sciences. He received his BA and MBA from Hope International University, and also competed in Cross County/Track while earning is degrees. One of his favorite things about serving in higher education is navigating potential applicant’s through the admissions process as they aim to reach their goals. Outside of the office, he enjoys photography, music, movies, and spending quality time with the people close to him.

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