People Group Archives: Nursing Practice

Amanda “Mandi” Houston is a lecturer at the University of Central Florida College of Nursing, and two-time Knight nurse alumna. She is a Certified Healthcare Simulation Educator and focused her PhD dissertation on the impact of simulation in undergraduate nursing education, looking specifically at knowledge retention and cognitive load. Her continued research interests focus on […]

Education MSN, University of Central Florida BSN, University of Central Florida Selected Awards & Honors Noble Knight Nurse Award, Practice Category, UCF College of Nursing, 2020 Selected Professional Activities Sigma Honor Society of Nursing American Association of Critical Care Nurses

Heather Peralta, who has been at the UCF College of Nursing for nearly a decade, is the Apopka Community Nursing Coalition coordinator and teaches undergraduate nursing students. Peralta is dedicated to mentoring future nurses and serving the community. She has participated in several study abroad trips with nursing students to Peru and spearheaded the creation […]

Instructor Sotos Djiovanis worked as a trauma, elective orthopedics and acute care nurse at Orlando Health for eight years, where he served as a clinical preceptor and education resource nurse, and led unit practice councils. He is currently a doctoral candidate in nursing education at Columbia University’s Teachers College, where he is researching community health, […]

An experienced nurse educator at the undergraduate and graduate levels, Melissa “Missy” Radecki also has significant adult critical care experience. She is a National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) item writer and an expert on NCLEX preparation and the Next Generation NCLEX. Radecki’s dissertation research focused on inclusive learning for students with disabilities, and she is […]

Associate Professor Vivian Schutz is the author of five books, nearly two dozen book chapters and more than 50 journal articles, primarily focusing on healthcare costs, healthcare economics evaluation and patient safety. In addition to her degrees in nursing, Schutz holds two MBAs — one in strategic management service and another in total quality management. Her […]

A Certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner and Pediatric Mental Health Specialist, Valerie C. Martinez is passionate about pediatric healthcare. She leverages her extensive nursing experience working with neonates and children with chronic medical conditions in her research, which seeks to address mental health disparities among children and families, as well as improve health outcomes for children […]

Jean Davis’ passion for community health promotion grew from listening to her aunt and her mother, both nurses, discussing community health problems when she was a child. Today the Jonas Veterans Healthcare Scholar and assistant professor at the UCF College of Nursing channels her passion into research that focuses on physical activity support, promotion and […]

Instructor Kate Dorminy is a dual alumna of the UCF College of Nursing and holds professional certifications in Progressive Care by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses and in Nurse Professional Development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center. Prior to her academic role at UCF as undergraduate clinical education coordinator since 2019, Dorminy worked for […]

Virtual and augmented reality; human tracking systems; and human surrogates for training and telepresence.