Department of Nursing
What We Do:
Our mission is to prepare nurses at the baccalaureate, master's, and doctoral levels, who are grounded in the Catholic and Jesuit tradition, and committed to excellence in practice for the 21st century. Our graduates have the knowledge and competencies to deliver high-quality, evidence-based, holistic person-centered care.
How We Stand Out:
- Jesuit ideals: We have a deep concern for students as individuals. Service and compassion are emphasized in all programs.
- Personal attention: In their first year, undergraduate nursing majors take introductory classes with our full-time faculty and meet their peers. Graduate and DNP students are all assigned a faculty mentor to guide and support their educational experience.
- Strong clinical focus: Clinical experiences beginning in sophomore year for undergraduate students. All clinical sites are arranged by faculty for baccalaureate, graduate, and doctoral students.
- Dedicated faculty: Classes taught by full-time faculty who are actively engaged in clinical practice and research.
Programs:
Undergraduate Degree Program:
- (BSN): The baccalaureate degree program consists of 127.5 credits in nursing and liberal arts courses. Graduates are eligible to take the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN). The curriculum prepares graduates who possess clinical judgment and competencies to function in a variety of settings.
Master's Degree Programs:
- Family Nurse Practitioner (MSN): A 36-credit master’s degree program for baccalaureate-prepared-nurses, and a 27-credit post-master’s certificate for nurses already holding a master’s degree in nursing. The curriculum prepares registered nurses to assess, diagnose, and treat common episodic and chronic disorders, and to provide health-promotion and disease-prevention interventions and counseling across the lifespan.
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Degree Programs:
- Post-Master's -- Leadership (DNP): A 30-credit doctoral degree program for master’s prepared nurses uniquely offered in an executive leadership format, specifically designed to accommodate full-time practice and full-time academic commitment. This hybrid model allows for a combination of on-campus and on-line course work, incorporating the benefits of face-to-face on campus learning with the flexibility of online learning.
- Nurse Anesthesia (DNP): An 83-credit doctoral degree program for baccalaureate prepared nurses who are seeking the opportunity to become Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists. The 36-month full-time program prepares graduates to administer all types of anesthesia to diverse populations in a variety of clinical settings.
Meet Our Faculty:
We have all been bedside practitioners and have advanced degrees in a broad range of backgrounds and specialties. In addition to teaching, many of us remain engaged in clinical practice, research, and hold leadership roles on local and national boards of professional organizations.
Additionally, we are active in the University community through committee service and leading national and international service trips for the marginalized and underserved. Above all, we pride ourselves on being accessible to our students and committed to their success.
Mary Jane K. DiMattio, PhD, RN
Chair
Department Chairperson
B.S.N., 草榴社区
M.S.N., Villanova University
Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania
Phone: 570-941-7628
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Internal Website
Michele Boland, MSN
Barbara K. Buxton, PhD, RN, PMH-CNS, BC
Associate Professor
B.S.N., Albright College
M.S.N., Wilkes University
Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Phone: 570-941-7706
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Internal Website
Dona Rinaldi Carpenter, EdD, RN
Professor
B.S.N., Misericordia
M.S.N., Villanova University
M.S.N., Teacher鈥檚 College Columbia University
Ed.D., Columbia University
Phone: 570-941-4195
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Internal Website
Laura Skoronski Chavez, PhD, MSN
Assistant Professor
PhD, University of Wisconsin-Milwalkee, 2018
MS, Georgetown University, 2014
BSN, 草榴社区, 2010
Phone: 570-941-7644
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Teresa Conte, PhD, CPNP, FAPHON
Associate Professor
B.S.N., 草榴社区
M.S.N., Villanova University
Ph.D., Villanova University
Phone: 570-941-7647
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Internal Website
Ann Culp, CRNA, DNP
Program Administrator, Nurse Anesthesia Program
R.N., Pittston Hospital School of Nursing
B.S.N., Ottawa University
M.S.N., Case Western Reserve University
DNP, Case Western Reserve University
Phone: 570-941-5588
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Internal Website
Susan Elczyna, PhD, CRNA
Assistant Program Administrator, Nurse Anesthesia Program
R.N., Geisinger School of Nursing
B.S.N., Wilkes University
M.S.N., Wilkes University
Ph.D., Marywood University
Phone: 570-941-5583
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Internal Website
Marian Farrell, PhD, PMH-NP, BC, PMH-CNS, BC, CRNP, CS
Professor
B.S.N., Misericordia University
M.S.N., Misericordia University
Ph.D., Adelphi University
Phone: 570-941-4117
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Internal Website
Ann Feeney, PhD, CRNP, CNM
Associate Professor
R.N., Robert Packer Hospital School of Nursing
B.S.N., Marywood University
M.S.N., University of Pennsylvania
Ph.D., Binghamton University
Phone: 570-941-4118
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Internal Website
Kelly Filchner, PhD
B.S.N., East Stroudsburg University, 1988
M.S.N., DeSales University, 1996
Ph.D., Duquesne University, 2022
Phone: 570-941-6956
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Autumn Forgione, RN, MSN, AGNP
Director of Simulation
B.S.N., Villanova University
M.S.N., University of Pennsylvania
Phone: 570-941-4788
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Internal Website
Natalie Gilboy, MSN, CRNP
Anna Grippi, MSN
Faculty Specialist
B.S.N., Marywood University
M.S.N., Aspen University
Phone: 570-941-4016
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Shannon Kaspriskie, MSN
Mimi Kovaleski, PhD, MSN, RN, ACNS-BC, CCRN
Faculty Specialist
B.S.N., Wilkes University
M.S.N., 草榴社区
Ph.D., Duquesne University
Phone: 570-941-5832
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Lisa Lesneski, PhD, RN
Associate Professor
B.S.N., Marywood University
M.S.N., Binghamton University
Ph.D., University of Maryland at Baltimore
Phone: 570-941-4346
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Internal Website
Linda Lewis, MSN, RN, CCNS, RN-BC
Faculty Specialist
Mercy School of Nursing
B.S.N., Pennsylvania State University
M.S.N., University of Pennsylvania
Phone: 570-941-7755
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Internal Website
Wendy Grochowski Manetti, PhD, CRNP, NP-C
Family Nurse Practitioner Program Director
B.S.N., 草榴社区
M.S.N., 草榴社区
Ph.D., Widener University
Phone: 570-941-6221
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Internal Website
Julie Murphy, PhD, MSN, PMHNP
Assistant Professor
A.A.S., Luzerne Community College 1996
B.S.N., Penn State University 2005
M.S.N., Drexel University 2012
Ph.D., Penn State University, 2019
Certifications: Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse Practitioner
Primary Palliative Care
Phone: 570-941-6793
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Tracy L. Murray, Esq., JD, CRNP, CRNA
Clinical Director, Nurse Anesthesia Program
BSN, University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing
CRNA, University Health Center of Pittsburgh School of Anesthesia for Nurses
MSN, University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing
JD, Widener University Commonwealth Law School
Phone: 570-941-5551
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Laurie Valunas, RN, MSN, CPNP
Assistant to the Undergraduate Program Director
B.S.N., 草榴社区
M.S.N., Duke University
Phone: 570-941-5833
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Internal Website
Michelle Van Pelt, MSN, RN
Cristen Walker, PhD, CRNP, FNP-C, CNE
Undergraduate Program Director
B.S.N., University of Pittsburgh
M.S.N., State University of New York
Ph.D., Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Phone: 570-941-7928
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Internal Website
Patricia M. Wright, PhD, CRNP, CNS, CHPN, CNE
Professor
B.S.N., Misericordia University
M.S.N., Misericordia University
Ph.D., Loyola University Chicago
Post-Master鈥檚 Certificate: Family Nurse Practitioner, Misericordia University
Phone: 570-941-6484
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Internal Website
Inside the Classroom:
Student Research:
Scholarship is an important focus of our nursing faculty, and we have had our research projects funded by national organizations. Faculty have been published in nursing and interdisciplinary health care journals and have presented at national and international conferences.
Our students have the opportunity to work with faculty on research projects. Some undergraduate students choose an Honors Program option, where they are mentored by faculty as they produce their own research. Students have presented research at national conferences, and spent post-graduate years in service to others on national and international levels.
For more information on individual faculty members areas of research, visit our faculty page.
Career Outcomes:
Our graduates enter the profession with a solid theoretical and clinical base that guides their practice and decision-making. We have greater than a 95% annual employment rate post-graduation.
You will find our baccalaureate prepared Royal RNs working in hospitals, community clinics, government agencies, and offices. Our master’s and DNP graduates’ function in various roles including clinician, educator, and administrator.
Employers of our graduates include hospitals, clinics, surgical centers, military bases, private practice, public health settings, and educational institutions.
Employers of our graduates include:
- Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
- Duke University Hospital, Durham, NC
- Geisinger Health System, Danville, PA
- Hackensack Medical Center, Hackensack, NJ
- Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, PA
- Lehigh Valley Hospital and Physicians Group, Allentown, PA
- Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY
- New York Presbyterian Medical Center, New York, NY
- New York University Medical Center, New York City, NY
- University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA
- U.S. Military Hospitals in Hawaii, Texas, Washington, D.C., and Germany
- Vanderbilt Medical Center, Nashville, TN
- Wright Center, 草榴社区, PA
- Yale New Haven Medical Center, Yale, CT
Accreditation:
| The baccalaureate degree program in nursing, master's degree program in nursing, Doctor of Nursing Practice program, and post-graduate APRN certificate program at the 草榴社区 are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education. ( |  |
The Nurse Anesthesia Program at the 草榴社区 is accredited by .
Nursing Programs
Department news
Undergraduate Nursing Program Ranked Nationally
草榴社区's bachelor of science in nursing is among the top in the U.S., according to U.S. News & World Report. The major is ranked No. 112 in the nation in the 2024 edition of the US News "Best Colleges" guidebook.
See How a Nursing Degree Opens Doors
Nursing student Glen Johnson administers the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at a clinic in Throop, PA, in a photo by Christopher Dolan ’14 (Photo Courtesy The Times-Tribune).
Department Earns National Award
草榴社区's nursing program was one of two in the nation to earn the 2020 Assessment and Impact Award for Nursing Education.
