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Dr. Kelly Powers, PhD, RN, CNE, FNAP is an Associate Professor in the School of Nursing at UNC Charlotte. She has been a faculty member at UNC Charlotte since 2008. Her research is focused on improving the tenets of interprofessional practice to improve patient, family, and community health outcomes. Dr. Powers is a Distinguished Scholar Fellow of the National Academies of Practice – Nursing Academy, on the Steering Committee of the North Carolina Interprofessional Education Leadership Collaborative (NC IPELC), and an Editorial Board Member of Journal of Professional Nursing and Dimensions of Critical Care Nursing. She currently teaches in the MSN and DNP programs, and also works to create and evaluate innovative simulation and interprofessional education (IPE) interventions for undergraduate and graduate students. Dr. Powers was awarded the National League for Nursing (NLN) Foundation Research Award to conduct her study titled Teaming Up for Community Health: Mixed methods study of an innovative interprofessional simulation intervention. Prior to joining the faculty at UNC Charlotte, Dr. Powers worked as a Registered Nurse in a variety of settings; including critical care, emergency, neurological, medical/surgical, and rehabilitation settings.

Education

  • PhD in Nursing- University of Nevada Las Vegas, 2014
  • MSN in Nursing Education- William Paterson University, 2007
  • BSN- Villanova University, 1999
Teaching
  • NURS 6282: Interprofessional Collaboration in Healthcare
  • NURS 6302: Trends and Issues in Nursing Education
  • NURS 6304: Teaching Practicum in Nursing Education
Research Interests/Areas of Expertise
  • Interventions to improve provision of safe and high-quality healthcare, including connecting inpatient and community-based care
  • Interventions to improve patient- and family-centered care
  • Educational innovations for nursing and other health professions students (simulation and IPE)

Selected Publications

  • Powers, K. (2017). Barriers to family presence during resuscitation and strategies for improving nurses’ invitation to families. Applied Nursing Research, 38, 22-28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apnr.2017.08.007
  • Powers, K. (2018). Family presence during resuscitation: The education needs of critical care nurses. Dimensions of Critical Care Nursing, 37(4), 210-216. https://doi.org/10.1097/DCC.0000000000000304
  • Powers, K., & Reeve, C.L. (2018). Factors associated with nurses’ perception, self-confidence, and invitations of family presence during resuscitation in the intensive care unit: A cross-sectional survey. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 87, 103-112. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2018.06.012
  • Powers, K., Herron, E.K., & Pagel, J. (2019). Nurse preceptor role in new graduates’ transition to practice. Dimensions of Critical Care Nursing, 38, 131-136. https://doi.org/10.1097/dcc.0000000000000354
  • Cheng, I., Powers, K., Mange, D., Palmer, B., Chen, F., Perkins, B., & Patterson, S. (2020). Interprofessional education through healthcare hotspotting: Understanding social determinants of health and mastering complex care through teamwork. Journal of Interprofessional Education and Practice, 20(September 2020), Article 100340. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xjep.2020.100340
  • Powers, K., Neustrup, W., Thomas, C., Saine, A., Sossoman, L.B., Ferrante-Fusilli, F.A., Ross, T.C., Clark, K., & Dexter, A. (2020). Baccalaureate nursing students’ experiences with multi-patient, standardized patient simulations using telehealth to collaborate. Journal of Professional Nursing, 36(5), 292-300. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.profnurs.2020.03.013
  • Powers, K., & Reeve, C.L. (2020). Family presence during resuscitation: Medical-surgical nurses’ perceptions, self-confidence, and use of invitations. American Journal of Nursing, 120(11), 28-38. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.naj.0000721244.16344.ee
  • Powers, K., Neustrup, W., Sossoman, L.B., Dexter, A., Clark, K., Ferrante-Fusilli, F.A., Ross, T.C., Thomas, C., & Saine, A. (2021). Simulations using telehealth to collaborate with other healthcare professionals: Effect on nursing students’ competencies and amount of collaboration in the clinical setting. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 35(3), 430-437. https://doi.org/10.1080/13561820.2020.1780203
  • Powers, K., Montegrico, J., Pate, K., & Pagel, J. (2021). Nurse faculty perceptions of readiness for practice among new nurses graduating during the pandemic. Journal of Professional Nursing, 37(6), 1132-1139. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.profnurs.2021.09.003
  • Powers, K., Brandon, J., & Townsend-Chambers, C. (2022). Preparing nursing students for home health using an escape room: A qualitative study. Nurse Education Today, 108(January 2022), Article 105215. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2021.105215
  • Powers, K., Kulkarni, S., Romaine, A., Mange, D., Little, C., & Cheng, I. (2022). Interprofessional student hotspotting: Preparing future health professionals to deliver team-based care for complex patients. Journal of Professional Nursing, 38(1), 17-25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.profnurs.2021.11.007
  • Shue-McGuffin, K.D., & Powers, K. (2022). Dermatologic simulations in nurse practitioner education: Improving skin cancer knowledge, confidence, and performance. Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, 34(3), 489-498. https://doi.org/10.1097/jxx.0000000000000637
  • Powers, K., Pate, K., Montegrico, J., & Pagel, J. (2022). Faculty perceptions of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on new graduate nurses’ transition to practice: A qualitative study. Journal of Professional Nursing, 43(Nov-Dec), 33-41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.profnurs.2022.09.003
  • Powers, K., Duncan, J.M., & Twibell, K.R. (2023). Family support person role during resuscitation: A qualitative exploration. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 32(3-4), 409-421. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.16248
  • Powers, K., & Kulkarni, S. (2023). Examination of online interprofessional education to develop graduate students’ interprofessional socialization and collaborative competencies. Journal of Social Work Education, 59(2), 506-519. https://doi.org/10.1080/10437797.2022.2050865
  • Pate, K., Powers, K., Pagel, J., & Montegrico, J. (2024). Innovative strategies to facilitate newly licensed nurse transition to practice during the COVID-19 pandemic: A quality improvement project. Journal for Nurses in Professional Development, 40(1), E7-E14. https://doi.org/10.1097/NND.0000000000000992
  • Powers, K., & Shue-McGuffin, K.D. (2024). Gaining experience in the provider role: Exploration of a novel simulation intervention to prepare nurse practitioner students to detect and manage skin cancer. Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, 36(5), 291-299. https://doi.org/10.1097/jxx.0000000000000999
  • McCullough, G.H., Powers, K., Watts-Isley, J., Brown, P., Smith, S., & Vaughn, J.T. (2024). Interprofessional education at the university level: Evidence, models, and future directions. North Carolina Medical Journal, 85(3), 169-172. https://doi.org/10.18043/001c.117088
  • Kulkarni, S., White, M., Reinsmith-Jones, K., & Powers, K. (2024). Interprofessional social work education initiatives: Improving behavioral health access and workforce competence for integrated care. North Carolina Medical Journal, 85(3), 191-196. https://doi.org/10.18043/001c.117216
  • Powers, K., Brandon, J., & Chen, F. (2024). Teaming Up for Community Health simulation intervention: A quasi-experimental study. Nursing Education Perspectives. http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/01.NEP.0000000000001253