Clarissa M. Swope

Clarissa M. Swope is the proud recipient of the Cynthia Davis Sculco Scholarship. Clarissa is a fourth-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 and a 2023 Finalist for Critical Care Nursing. 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 was an Assistant Professor at St. Louis Community College for 4 years, and is now a full-time Assistant Professor of nursing at Nightingale College.

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 Doctor of Education in Nursing Education degree to advance her knowledge of nursing education and gain the research skills to improve the nursing curriculum through rigorous research in nursing education. She is currently working on the data analysis for a quasi-experimental multi-site study for her dissertation. Her research is aimed at investigating the effects of a social determinant of health (SDOH) classroom activity on undergraduate nursing students’ attitudes toward poverty and empathy. Clarissa also assisted Dr. Kris L’Ecuyer of St. Louis University on an integrated literature review of online nursing research methods which was published in Nursing Research in 2023.

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 has been an active member of her community. From 2016 to 2023, she was a member of the Young Professionals Board of Peter and Paul Community Services (PPCS). Clarissa served as the President of this board from 2019-2023.

Receiving this scholarship is significant to Clarissa as Dr. Sculco earned her MEd and EdD in Nursing Education from Teachers College. This scholarship will support Clarissa in completing her degree and pursuing her passion. With a Doctor of Education in Nursing Education degree, Clarissa hopes to continue her career as a nurse educator and conduct research into the effects of social determinants of health and accessible teaching methods to advance the nursing curriculum.