Susan M McDonald, PhD, CPNP, CNS, RN
Associate Professor/Clinical
As a pediatric nurse practitioner and nurse educator with over 40 years’ experience, I teach at both the graduate and undergraduate levels and actively practice as a PNP. I was a member of the committee which developed the BSN to DNP program. In my role as a pediatric nurse practitioner, I care for medically underserved families in the Wellness 360 clinic as well as on the SON mobile health clinic.
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Professional Background
Education
- 2012 - Doctor of Philosophy - Nursing - University of Texas at Tyler
- 1997 - Post-Master Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Certificate - Pediatric Nurse Practitioner - University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston
- 1987 - Master of Science in Nursing - Nursing - Pace University-Pleasantville
- 1976 - Bachelor of Science in Nursing - Nursing - Herbert H. Lehman College
Highlights
Licensures and Certifications
- Registered Nurse
- Advanced Practice Registered Nurse
Honors and Awards
- 2019 Imagemaker: An award from TNA/STTI for dedication to pediatric care in the community through work with students and other faculty in providing care on the mobile unit.
- 2012 Phi Kappa Phi: All-discipline honor society
Professional Affiliations
- 2020 – Present, American Nurses Association
- 2020 – Present, Texas Nurses Association
Appointments
- 2020 - present - Associate Professor/Clinical - UT Health San Antonio, School of Nursing
- 2018 - present - Nurse Practitioner - UT Health San Antonio, School of Nursing
- 2015 - 2020 - Assistant Professor/Clinical - UT Health San Antonio, School of Nursing
- 2012 - 2014 - Assistant Professor - Stephen F. Austin State University
- 2005 - 2012 - Instructor - Stephen F. Austin State University
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Instruction & Training
- 2021, NURS 3110 - Health Assessment Clinical Application, UT Health San Antonio, School of Nursing
- 2020 - present, NURS 6320 - Theory Foundations-Adv Nursing Practice, UT Health San Antonio, School of Nursing
- 2019 - present, NURS 6130 - NP Conceptual Basis for Advanced Practice, UT Health San Antonio, School of Nursing
- 2015 - present, NURS 3372 - Family Nurse Care Theoretical, UT Health San Antonio, School of Nursing
- 2015 - present, NURS 6451- FNP Diagnosis & Management: Young Families, UT Health San Antonio, School of Nursing
- 2020, NURS 6251 - FNP Dx and Mgt of Young Families Theory, UT Health San Antonio, School of Nursing
- 2020, NURS 7312 - ONLI DNP Project Seminar, UT Health San Antonio, School of Nursing
- 2020, NURS 7313 - ONLI DNP Practice Inquiry Clinical Application, UT Health San Antonio, School of Nursing
- 2018 - 2020, NURS 4403 - DM 3, UT Health San Antonio, School of Nursing
- 2018, NURS 5306 - Advanced Theory for the Practice of Nursing, UT Health San Antonio, School of Nursing
- 2015 - 2020, NURS 3208 - Childbearing Families: Clinical, UT Health San Antonio, School of Nursing
- 2015 - 2019, NURS 6621 - FNP Dx and Mgt Young Family, UT Health San Antonio, School of Nursing
- 2015 - present, NURS 3373 - Family Nurse Care Clinical Application, UT Health San Antonio, School of Nursing
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Research & Grants
Research Articles
- 2017 – Ongoing Evaluation of Teaching Strategies Effectiveness on Content Mastery Exam, Comparing student success on content mastery examinations after the implementation of new teaching strategies.
- 2016 – Present Evidence - based comprehensive analysis of obesogenic risk factors, Scoping review of the literature to examine causes of childhood obesity in the first 1000 days of life.
Grants
Completed Research/Projects:
- 2018 – Present School of Nursing Mobile Unit, I am the lead nurse practitioner on the mobile unit. We bring health care into the community by serving children and their families in apartment complexes run by Prospera, a non-profit agency that provides housing and services to under-served populations. I coordinate teams of graduate and undergraduate students to deliver care to these children. This is an ongoing endeavor.
- 2016 – Present School of Nursing Pediatric Clinic, I am a pediatric nurse practitioner in the NP run clinics providing primary care to under-served children in the community. In this role, I also act as preceptor to NP students.
Teaching Projects
- 2015 - Present Improving course content delivery to meet the needs of diverse learners, I have developed guided reading sheets to help students hone in the essential topic elements. These have been shared with faculty in other courses and have been used successfully in NURS 3207. I have incorporated the use of podcasts and voice over PowerPoints. I have developed realistic case studies to enhance application skills.
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Service
School
Student Mentees/Trainees
- 2018 – Present Bassma Brwani - Dissertation: Saudi Arabian Pediatric Nurses’ Knowledge and Attitudes about Identifying and Report
Institutional
- 2018 – Present, UT Health San Antonio, SON Mobile Unit Pediatric Outreach/Nurse Practitioner
- 2018 – Present, UT Health San Antonio, SON BSN to DNP working group/Member
- 2016 – Present, UT Health San Antonio, SON MSN Working group/Member
- 2018 – Present, UT Health San Antonio, PhD Supervising Committee/Member
- 2018 – 2019, UT Health San Antonio, Faculty Assembly/ Chair Elect
- 2018 – 2019, UT Health San Antonio, Faculty Council/Member
- 2017 – 2019, UT Health San Antonio, COGS/Member
- 2017 – 2018, UT Health San Antonio, DNP Committee/Chair
- 2016 – 2019, UT Health San Antonio, Institutional Review Board/Member
- 2015 – 2019, UT Health San Antonio, PhD Dissertation/Member
- 2015 – 2017, UT Health San Antonio, COUS/Member
- 2015 – 2017, UT Health San Antonio, By-Laws/Member
- 2015, UT Health San Antonio, Evaluation Sub-Committee/Member
Service to the Profession
- 2016 – Present, Reviewer, Nurse Educators in the Rockies Conference
- 2016 – Present, APN, AVANCE Head Start
- 2016 – Present, Reviewer, Nursing Education Perspectives
- 2013 – Present, Reviewer, McMasters Online Rating of Evidence
Community Service
- 2020 – Present, Volunteer, STRAC COVID Testing Call Center
- 2018 – Present, Provided pediatric anticipatory CHCS NAS Mothers guidance and health maintenance/health promotion education to pregnant and parenting women in a neonatal abstinence residential treatment program. 2018 UT Health SON faculty manned a booth Easter at the Beach where we provided information and samples regarding healthy foods and outdoor/sun safety, and also had a fun craft station. Samples and recipes for healthy foods were distributed; sunglasses, sunblock, and insect repellent was distributed along with information about safety. Adult services were provided in the mobile clinic by senior undergraduate students
- 2018, Provided breast exams and education for the San Antonio Ministries Martinez Street Center to women
- 2016, Performed physicals for students in Head Start Madla Elementary
- 2016, Performed physical for students, NEISD
- 2015, Performed physical for students, Pearsall ISD
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Publications
Peer-reviewed Articles (*indicates data-based)
- *McDonald, Susan M. Low Cost-High Return: Creating an Ideal Pediatric Clinical Experience Nursing Education Perspectives 2016 Nov;37(6):358-359
- *McDonald SM. The Lived Experiences of Mexican Heritage Mothers Caring for Overweight Preschool Children The Qualitative Report 2015 Apr;20(4):431-450
- *McDonald SM. Perception: A concept analysis. International Journal of Nursing Knowledge 2012;23(1):2-9
Non-Peer-reviewed Articles (i. e. editorials, news articles, etc.)
- McDonald SM. The Lived Experiences of Mexican Heritage Mothers Caring for Overweight Preschool Children. University of Texas at Tyler 2012:90
Abstracts
- McDonald SM. The Lived Experiences of Mexican Heritage Mothers Caring For Overweight Preschool Children 2012 May. (The University of Texas at Tyler).
Peer-Reviewed Podium Presentations
- 2020, When Joy Turns to Sorrow: Simulations and Nursing Students Reflections, Nurse Educators Conference in the Rockies, Centennial AHEC, Copper Mountain, CO (Co-Presenter)
- 2019, Learning from the Past to Design Innovated Nursing Education for the Future, Nurse Educators Conference in the Rockies, Poster Presentation, Centennial AHEC, Vail, CO (Co-Presenter)
- 2018, Bringing Health Care Home, Re-Imagining Healthcare: A Life-Course Approach to Community Based Care, UT Health SON Lifelong Learning, San Antonio, TX (Co-Presenter)
- 2018, Pediatric Assessment, Continuing Education Program 359th Medical Group Randolph AFB, US Air Force Family Practice Nursing Personnel, US Air Force 359th Medical Group Randolph AFB, San Antonio, TX (Sole Presenter)
- 2017, I Can Explain It to You but I Can‘t Understand It for You: Bringing the Abstract to Life, Nurse Educators Conference in the Rockies, Nurse educators from all levels of programs, Centennial AHEC, Breckinridge, CO (Co-Presenter)
- 2017, Evidence - based comprehensive analysis of obesogenic risk factors in the first 1000 days, 8th Annual Frontiers of Translational Science Research Day, Research, UT Health San Antonio, San Antonio, TX (Co-Presenter)
- 2016, The Lived Experiences of Mexican-Heritage Mothers Caring for Overweight Preschool Children, The Qualitative Report 7th Annual Conference, Breakout session, Nova Southestern University, Ft. Lauderdale, FL (Sole Presenter)
Peer Reviewed Poster Presentations
- 2020 Precepting on the Move: Facilitating Graduate and Undergraduate Nursing Student Learning Utilizing NP Faculty Practice Opportunities, Texas Nurse Practitioners Fall Annual Conference, Texas Nurse Practitioners, Dallas, TX (Co-Author)
- 2014 Low Cost-High Return: Creating the Ideal Pediatric Experience, Nurse Educators Conference in the Rockies, Centenial Area AHEC, Breckinridge, CO (Sole Presenter)
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Clinical
Board Certifications
- Pediatric Nursing Certification Board