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Cynthia O'Neal

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onealc@uthscsa.edu

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.

  • 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 

     

  • 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

  • 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 

  • 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  

  • 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)