Clarissa M. Swope

Clarissa M. Swope is the proud recipient of the Liesel M. Hiemenz Scholarship. She is a third-year doctoral student in the Doctor of Education in Nursing Education program at Teachers College, Columbia University in New York, NY. Clarissa earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from the University of Missouri, St. Louis, in 2007. She received a Master of Science in Nursing Education degree from Webster University in 2018 with full Graduate Academic Honors.

Clarissa was inspired to pursue a degree in nursing by her volunteer work as a young adult and by her mother, whom she watched become a nurse while caring for a family of five. Since earning a Bachelor’s degree, she has been a nurse at Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, MO. Clarissa has extensive experience in the neurological and cardiovascular intensive care units and nursing management. She was a 2017 March of Dimes Finalist for Frontline Supervisor. She was also awarded the Jill Malen Excellence in Nursing Research, Direct Nursing Supervisor, and Overall Best Catch awards from Barnes Jewish Hospital during her employment. Clarissa is a full-time Assistant Professor of Nursing at St. Louis Community College and continues working as a critical care nurse in the ICU at Barnes Jewish Hospital.

Throughout her experience as a bedside critical care nurse and nurse manager, she was always drawn to education and mentoring new nurses. She recognized the clinical practice gap that new graduate nurses were experiencing and chose to pursue a degree in nursing education. Clarissa chose the Doctoral of Education in Nursing Education program at Teachers College, Columbia University, to advance her knowledge of nursing education and gain the research skills to improve the nursing curriculum through rigorous research in nursing education. Currently, she is a Research Assistant to Dr. Tresa Kaur of Villanova University, assisting in studies on simulation-based learning and investigating the role of the EdD and PhD degrees in nursing education. Clarissa is also working with Dr. Kris L’Ecuyer of St. Louis University on an integrated literature review of online nursing research methods.

Clarissa is a member of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing, the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, the American Nurses Association, the Missouri Nurses Association, and the National League for Nursing. Additionally, she is an active member of her community. Since 2016, she has been a member of the Young Professionals Board of the Peter and Paul Community Services (PPCS) program, assisting with providing housing and supportive services to persons experiencing homelessness, mental illness, or those living with HIV. Clarissa has served as the President of this board since 2019. As the faculty advisor to the Student Nurses Association (SNA) at St. Louis Community College, she has been able to create a service partnership with PPCS and the SNA.

With a Doctor of Education in Nursing Education degree, Clarissa hopes to continue her career as a nurse educator and conduct research into clinical judgment and service-learning to advance the nursing curriculum and create impactful community partnerships.