Cynthia O'Neal, PhD, RN
Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies
Associate Professor
I am a seasoned academician with a solid foundation in nursing education excellence spanning 27 years. I create and foster positive, inclusive, faculty environments, while empowering others to grow, explore, and achieve a fulfilling academic career themselves. I have a professional journey punctuated with a variety of faculty appointments, at public and private academic institutions across five states, thus enriching my appreciation of diverse perspectives.
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Professional Background
Education
- 2007 - Doctor of Philosophy - Nursing - Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
- 1993 - Master of Science in Nursing - Nursing (Leadership) - University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV
- 1990 - Bachelor of Science in Nursing - Nursing - University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV
- 1986 - Bachelor of Science - Psychology - Arizona State University Tempe, Tempe, AZ
Highlights
Licensure and Certification
- Registered Nurse (Texas)
Honors and Awards
- 2020, School of Nursing Alumna of the Year, University of Nevada
- 2020, Innovation Award Nominee, UT Health School of Nursing, Univertisy of Texas Kenneth I. Shine Academy of Health Science Education
- 2019, 25 Best Nurses in South Central Texas, San Antonio Nursing Consortium
- 2018, UT Kenneth I. Shine Academy Nominee, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
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Instruction & Training
- 2021, NURS 7310 Theory Development Faculty Analysis & Evaluation in Nursing, UT Health San Antonio, School of Nursing
- 2021, NURS 4420 Transition to Professional Nursing Practice, UT Health San Antonio, School of Nursing
- 2020, NURS 4420 Transition to Professional Nursing Practice, UT Health San Antonio, School of Nursing
- 2020, NURS 3303 Concepts of Professional Nursing, UT Health San Antonio, School of Nursing
- 2019 , NURS 4420 Transition to Professional Nursing Practice, UT Health San Antonio, School of Nursing
- 2019, NURS 3303 Concepts of Professional Nursing, UT Health San Antonio, School of Nursing
- 2019, NURS 4423 Clinical Immersion, UT Health San Antonio, School of Nursing
- 2018, NURS 3303 Concepts of Professional Nursing, UT Health San Antonio, School of Nursing
- 2018, NURS 4423 Clinical Immersion, UT Health San Antonio, School of Nursing
- 2017, NURS 5306 Advanced Theory for the Practice of Nursing, UT Health San Antonio, School of Nursing
- 2017, NURS 7310 Theory Development, Analysis & Evaluation in Nursing, UT Health San Antonio, School of Nursing
- 2016, NURS 4420 Trans to Prof. Nursing Practice Clinic, UT Health San Antonio, School of Nursing
- 2016, NURS 4423 Clinical Immersion, UT Health San Antonio, School of Nursing
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Research & Grants
Grants
Submitted and Not Funded or Unfunded Research/Projects:
- 2012-Present Funder: Health Resources Services Administration. Dollars: $1,071,736.00. Title: Nurse Education, Practice, Quality and Retention (NEPQR) Program: Interprofessional Collaborative Practice. Role: Principal Investigator
- 2015 - 2016 Funder: Texas Research Development and Research Enhancement Funds (Texas A & M University, Corpus Christi). Dollars: $20,000.00. Title: An Ecological Understanding of Physical Activity Patterns of Adults Living with HIV Throughout the Lifespan: A prospective correlational descriptive multi-site observation study. Role: Co-Investigator
- 2014 - 2017 Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Dollars: $500,000.00. Title: Transition to Practice Proposal. Role: Co-Investigator
Completed Research/Projects:
- 2018 – 2019, Funder: Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board / Grant # 163117. Dollars: $199,937.00. Title: Building Simulation & Skills Lab Capacity: Development of a Comprehensive Robust Integrated Simulation Program. Role: Co-Investigator
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Service
Institutional
- 2015 – Present, UT Health SA, School of Nursing Faculty Council (FC), Member
- 2015 - Present, UT Health SA, School of Nursing Faculty Council (FC), Member
- 2015 - Present, UT Health SA, School of Nursing Faculty Assembly (FA), Member
- 2015 - Present, UT Health SA, School of Nursing Committee on Undergraduate Studies COUS), Liaison
- 2015 - Present, UT Health SA, School of Nursing School of Nursing Executive Committee, Member
- 2017 - Present, UT Health San Antonio School of Health Professions Faculty Promotion and Tenure committee, Member
- 2019 - Present, UT Health SA, School of Nursing General Education Advisory Committee, Member
- 2019 - Present, UT Health SA, School of Nursing General Education Assessment Advisory Committee, Member
- 2015 - Present, UT Health SA, School of Nursing Core Curriculum Task Force, Member
- 2015 - Present, UT Health San Antonio Texas Core-Quality and Integrity of Undergraduate Degrees, Representative
Service to the Profession
- 2019 - 2019, Reviewer, American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) Faculty Awards
- 2018 - Present, Council Member, Advisory Council - Advancing Community Oriented Registered Nursing (ACORN) Organization,
- 2018, Journal Reviewer, Journal of Professional Nursing
- 2017, Member, Nursing Program Advisory Committee for Schreiner University
- 2015 - 2016, Member, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, Uniform Pre-Nursing Curriculum Advisory Committee
- 2008 - Present, Participant, exas Organization of Baccalaureate and Graduate Nursing Education (TOBGNE)
Professional Affiliations
- 2019 - Present, Texas Organization of Nurse Executives (TONE)
- 2019 - Present, Central Texas Organization of Nurse Executives (CTONE)
- 2018 - Present, Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses, Member Additional
- 2018 - Present, Association of Rehabilitation Nurses, Member
- 2002 - Present, Community of Science, Member
- 1991 - Present, Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society, Member
- 1990 - Present, Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society, Member
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Publications
Peer-reviewed Articles (*indicates data-based)
- O’Neal, C. The construct validity of the normalization assessment measure. Rehabilitation Nursing Journal. (Revised and resubmitted)
- Grota, P & O’Neal, C (2020). Using INACSL standards to evaluate the rigor of high-fidelity simulation learning experiences. Clinical Simulation in Nursing. (in press).
- Schnetter, V. A., Lacy, D., Jones, M. M., Bakrim, K., Allen, P.E., O’Neal, C. Course development for web-based nursing education programs. Nursing Education in Practice 2014
- O’Neal, C, Ratnoff, W., Wallston, K.A. The construct validity of the normalization assessment measure. (Revised and resubmitted) Rehabilitation Nursing Journal 2014
- Allen, P. E., Billings, L. G., Cannon, S. B., Majors, J., Sportsman, S., Ballesteros, P., Bezinque, K., Bolton, C., Cottenoir, M., Edwards, C. E., Louder, J., O’Neal, C, Morgan, J., Reyes, H., Ross, L.. West Texas Nursing Education Portal Project: Developing a regional centralized application system. The Journal of Professional Nursing 2011 May:140-144.
Non-Peer-reviewed Articles (i. e. editorials, news articles, etc.)
- O’Neal, C. Creating leadership skills in fundamental courses. Journal of Nursing Education 2004;43(11)
Abstracts
- O’Neal, C. The Development of the Nominalization Assessment Measure (NAM). 2008. (Southern Online Journal of Nursing Research; vol. 8, no. 4).
Dissertation/Thesis
- O’Neal, C. The development of the normalization assessment measure. Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee: 2007.
- O’Neal, C. Effects of breast self-examination on depression and anxiety in women diagnosed with breast cancer. University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV: 1993.
Invited Podium Presentations (i. e. keynotes presentations)
- 2020, A University-wide Collaboration to Transform Interprofessional Education Based on Guidance from the Health Professions Accreditors Collaborative, Lebanese American University, Interprofessional Education: Best Practices for Curriculum Integration, Assessment, & Accreditation (Invited Podium, Co-Presenter)
- 2020, Clinical Value of Rigorous Simulation Learning Experiences, International Meeting on Simulation in Healthcare, Society for Simulation in Healthcare, San Diego, CA (Podium, Co-Presenter)
- 2019, Holistic Admissions In Nursing: An Initiative To Increase Nursing Workforce Diversity, Nuts & Bolts for Nurse Educator Conference 2019, Minneapolis, MN (Co-Presenter)
- 2019, Transforming Learning Environments: A Focus on Competence, International Nursing Symposium, Asahi University, Gifu, Japan Invited Podium, Sole Presenter
- 2019, State of Nursing Education, International Nursing Symposium, Asahi University, Gifu, Japan, Invited Panel, Discussion
- 2019, Measuring the Clinical Value of Substituting Rigorous, Complex High Fidelity Simulation Learning Experiences, 2019 INACSL Conference, International Nursing Association for Clinical Simulation and Learning (INACSL), Phoenix, AZ (Co-Presenter). Details: International Podium
- 2018, Partners in Educating Tomorrow’s Nurses, ANCC: Pathway to Excellence Conference 2018., Nursing Credentialing, American Nurses Credentialing Center, West Palm Beach, FL (Co-Presenter). Details: National: Podium
- 2016, “Evidence-Based Nursing: Translating Research Evidence Into Practice”, South Texas Veterans Healthcare System, Audie L. Murphy VA Hospital, San Antonio, TX (Sole Presenter)
Peer Reviewed Poster Presentations
- 2019, Development of a Comprehensive Robust Integrated Simulation Program (CRISP), 2019 INACSL Conference, International Nursing Association for Clinical Simulation and Learning (INACSL), Phoenix, AZ (Co-Presenter). Details: International Poster Presentation
- 2019, Streamlining Graduate Nurse Transitions Via Academic Practice Partnerships, American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE) 2019 Annual Meeting, American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE), San Diego, CA (Co-Presenter). Details: National Poster Presentation
- 2019, Using INACSL Standards to Value High Fidelity Simulation, 2019 International Nursing Association for Clinical Simulation and Learning (INACSL) Conference, Phoenix, AZ (Poster, Co-Presenter)
- 2018, Towards a Holistic Admissions Process: Year One, Nuts & Bolts for Nurse Educator Conference 2018, NurseTim, Minneapolis, MN (Co-Author)