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Background

Shelley Dugas-Thomas joined Decker College of Nursing and Health Sciences' Division of Nursing in September 2026 as a clinical assistant professor.

She is a nurse educator with extensive experience in direct nursing care, clinical education, and community health services. Her background spans direct patient care as a staff nurse, higher education teaching, and broad experience in community outreach, human services, and employee training roles. 

Her educational approach is grounded in constructivist learning theory and Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle, prioritizing inclusive, co-creative, and active learning environments to foster student competence, confidence, and critical thinking

Education

• PhD candidate, health sciences and nursing, ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½
• MS, nursing, Roberts Wesleyan University, Rochester, NY
• BS, nursing, Roberts Wesleyan University, Rochester, NY
• BA, psychology and Black studies, Amherst College, Amherst, MA
• Diploma in nursing, Arnot School of Nursing, Elmira, NY

Research Interests

• Psychological safety training and its effect on stress levels during simulation
• The impact of in-hospital preceptorship and externship programs on self-efficacy and transition shock in graduate/novice nurses
• Impact of adverse childhood experiences on academic resilience self-determined learning and professional engagement
• Community health cultural immersion and its effects on implicit and explicit bias in nursing students
• Art-based teaching practices and their impact on personal and professional self-concept
• Mindfulness-based stress reduction and its impact on student self-efficacy

Clinical Interests

• Medical-surgical nursing: acute bedside care, evidence-based nursing practice, and bedside clinical judgment
• Community and population health nursing: integrating social determinants of health (SDOH), cultural immersion and site-based clinical experiences (e.g., public health agencies, case management)
• Transition to practice and preceptorship: in-hospital preceptorship models to support new nursing graduates entering clinical care

More Info

Professional organizations

• SIgma Theta Tau- Rho Gamma Chapter, president
• Eastern Nursing Research Society, member nurse educator RIG