People Group Archives: Faculty

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 […]

Dr. Vivian Schutz is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Nursing Practice at the University of Central Florida. With over 18 years of experience in nursing education—12 in Brazil and 6 in the United States—she brings a deep foundation in clinical expertise and academic leadership. Before transitioning to academia, Dr. Schutz worked as […]

Mona Shattell is the chair of the Department of Nursing Systems, the Hugh F. and Jeannette G. McKean Endowed Chair, and a professor in the UCF College of Nursing. An internationally recognized mental health and psychiatric nursing expert, Shattell is the editor of the Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, and the author […]

Carmen Giurgescu is the Chatlos Foundation Endowed Chair and associate dean of research at UCF’s College of Nursing, which is named among the nation’s top nursing schools for NIH funding. Giurgescu is a world-renowned maternal health researcher who focuses her efforts on reducing preterm births to improve outcomes for new mothers and their babies. 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 […]

Dr. Jean Davis’ passion for community health promotion grew from listening to her aunt and her mother, both nurses, discuss and solve community health challenges when she was a child. Today the Fellow of the National Academies of Practice, Jonas Veterans Healthcare Scholar, and associate professor at the UCF College of Nursing channels her passion […]

Professor Emerita

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 […]

Chronic illness; Clinical teaching; Lifelong learning; and Promotion of professional publication.