NSO Nurses Advisory Board
NSO has an advisory board comprised of a prestigious group of nursing professionals from across the country. These nurses have been engaged to advise NSO about current nursing practices, to provide input about the insurance needs of nurses nationwide, and to aid in new product development. The NSO Nurses Advisory Board (NAB) meets regularly with NSO representatives to discuss and suggest improvements to the insurance programs and services to better support the nurses in their practice.
Nurses Advisory Board Members
Melanie Balestra, MN, NP, JD
Nurse AttorneyIrvine, California
Melanie has her own law practice in Irvine, California in which she focuses on legal and business issues that affect nurse practitioners, nurses and physicians, and Board of Nursing and Medical Board representations. She continues to work twenty hours per month as a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner at the Laguna Beach Community Clinic, where she developed and set in motion the Laguna Beach Community Clinic Medical Van. Before starting her own practice, Melanie practiced fours years of medical malpractice defense for Bonne, Bridges, Mueller, O'Keefe and Nichols, and two years as a Risk Manager for Ornda Hospitals. Melanie received her Bachelor of Science degree in nursing from Duke University, her Master of Nursing degree from University of California Los Angeles, and her Juris Doctorate from Gonzaga University Law School. She received her certification as a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner through NAPNAP. She is a member of the California Association of Nurse Practitioners, the American College of Nurse Practitioners, NAPNAP, The American Association of Nurse Attorneys, the California Bar, Orange County Bar Association and the Arizona Bar.
Gloria Ferraro Donnelly, PhD, RN, FAAN
Dean of the College of Nursing and Health ProfessionsDrexel University
Philadelphia, PA
Gloria Ferraro Donnelly, a leader in nursing education, both regionally and nationally, is Dean of the College of Nursing and Health Professions at Drexel University. Gloria has held faculty appointments at the University of Pennsylvania, School of Nursing, Trenton State College in New Jersey and Villanova University. She was the founding Dean of Nursing at La Salle University and was the first Dean of the School of Nursing at Drexel University. The author of four textbooks, winner of two AJN Book of the Year awards, and currently editor of Holistic Nursing Practice, a refereed journal, Dr. Donnelly speaks at the national level on nursing education and a variety of mental health topics including assertiveness, stress and change. In 1982 she was elected to fellowship in the American Academy of Nursing. Dr. Donnelly serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors for Horizon House Inc., an organization that serves the indigent mentally ill and mentally retarded in Southeastern Pennsylvania and Delaware. She was recently elected to the Board of Directors of Hahnemann University Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Renée Gecsedi, MS, RN
Director of Education, Practice & ResearchNew York State Nurses Association
Renée is currently the Director of the Education, Practice & Research Program of the New York State Nurses Association in Latham, New York. Prior to this, she was a Project Manager with the national Oncology Nursing Society (ONS). In that role, Renée oversaw the development of nursing education programs on a variety of oncology topics. Renée's nursing experience and expertise lies in oncology and hematology. She has been a Clinical Nurse Specialist for a multi-facility healthcare system in the Albany, New York area. Renée has also been on the board of the New York State Capital District Oncology Nursing Society and is currently the vice-president of the Delta Pi chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International Nursing Honor Society.
Susan King, RN, MS
Executive DirectorOregon Nurses Association
Susan King is the Executive Director of the Oregon Nurses Association (ONA). Susan has also served as the Administrator of Professional Services for ONA. In that capacity, she provided administrative and policy oversight for the government relations and nursing practice programs and served as one of a three member executive team. In addition to her role at ONA, Susan practices as an emergency nurse every week at a large Portland area medical center with a 55 bed acute and fast track Emergency Department. Susan has held many appointments including being a member of the Oregon State Board of Nursing for six years and serving as its president for two. She is active in community and volunteer endeavors in the Portland metropolitan area.
Terry D. Kirk, EdD, RN, CNAA-BC
Vice President/Chief Nursing OfficerPark Plaza Hospital and Medical Center
Houston, Texas
Terry has held nursing administration appointments and faculty positions spanning a nursing career of 38 years. His current position is Chief Nursing Officer for Houston Northwest Medical Center in Houston Texas. Dr. Kirk has served on the Nurse Executive Committee for Tenet Healthcare Inc. He has been instrumental in developing partnerships with universities throughout the country for Tenet. Terry has served as consultant for nursing practice and education projects across the country, including international consulting with The Universitat de Catalyuna in Barcelona Spain. Terry has been the recipient of the prestigious Circle of Excellence Award for Outstanding Chief Nursing Officer for Tenet Healthcare Inc. for the years of 2002, 2003 and 2004. Dr. Kirk's research and nursing practice interest are in exploring new models for providing nursing care and education models for nursing with specific interest in learning styles and work ethic of multi-generational nurses. He also serves as a part-time faculty member for Drexel University's College of Nursing and adjunct faculty for Texas Women's University in Houston. Recent accomplishments have been in the development and implementation of a Rapid Response Team as part of a Robert Wood Johnson Grant awarded to Tenet Healthcare. In addition, he was the administrative lead for Houston Northwest Medical Center in becoming an accredited Chest Pain Center by the Society of Chest Pain Centers. He has provided leadership for several best practices in both clinical and employee relations initiatives.
Diana J. Mason, RN, PhD, FAAN
Editor-in-Chief, American Journal of NursingNew York, NY
Diana is Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of Nursing, which has received numerous awards under her leadership: 2001 Folio Gold Award for Editorial Excellence; 2003 Clarion Award (Association for Women in Communications) for Best Overall External Magazine (circulation of 100,000 to 500,000) and Best Regular Editorial; 2003 American Society of Healthcare Publication Editors Award for Best Feature Series (Palliative Nursing series funded in part by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation); and three awards for public dissemination from the American Academy of Nursing and Sigma Theta Tau International Nursing Honorary Society. Dr. Mason is the co-editor of the award-winning book, Policy and Politics in Nursing and Health Care; now in its fourth edition. As a researcher, she published a series of studies on managed care arrangements with nurse practitioners.
Dr. Mason is the co-editor of the book, Policy and Politics in Nursing and Health Care; now in its fifth edition. As a researcher, she published a series of studies on managed care arrangements with nurse practitioners, as well as studies of human rhythms in health and illness. Since 1986, she has been one of the Producers and Moderators of "Healthstyles", a weekly, live radio program in New York City on personal health, health care, and health policy. The program has received numerous media awards. She was the project director for the WBAI-Global Kids' Sound Partners for Community Health Initiative, a program funded by the Benton and Robert Wood Johnson Foundations to train New York City youth in producing radio programs on preventing teen substance abuse.
Dr. Mason is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including fellowship in the American Academy of Nursing, the New York Academy of Medicine, and the Pioneering Spirit Award from the American Association of Critical Care Nurses; the Legislative Award from the New York State Nurses Association; and the Health Policy and Distinguished Alumnae Award from New York University's Division of Nursing. She is a graduate of West Virginia University School of Nursing (BSN), St. Louis University (MSN), and New York University (PhD). She holds an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Long Island University.
Donna Middaugh, PhD, RN
Associate Dean & Coordinator, Nursing Administration Masters SpecialtyUniversity of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Little Rock, AR
Dr. Middaugh is currently the Associate Dean for Service, a Clinical Associate Professor & Coordinator of the Nursing Administration Masters Specialty at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, College of Nursing in Little Rock, Arkansas. She has been on faculty there for 19 years and has taught undergraduate pediatrics and leadership/management prior to becoming Specialty Coordinator for the graduate nursing administration specialty. Donna's nursing experience and expertise lies in risk management. She has been a clinical risk manager for a 4-hospital system in San Antonio, Texas and continues to lecture and consult with nursing malpractice defense attorneys and hospitals for risk management and nursing malpractice prevention. Donna has served as a site visitor for the American Nurses Credentialing Center, Commission on Accreditation for continuing education in nursing. Donna is a reviewer for several nursing journals. She publishes a management column in MedSurg Nursing Journal and has just been appointed to their Editorial Board. She publishes numerous articles and presents at regional and national conference throughout the year.
Barbara Resnick, PhD, CRNP
University of MarylandBaltimore, MD
Dr. Resnick is currently a Professor in the Department of Organizational Systems and Adult Health at the University of Maryland School of Nursing in Baltimore, Maryland, the Sonya Ziporkin Gershowitz Chair in Gerontolgy, and the Program Director of the Gerontological Nurse Practitioner Program. She also maintains a clinical/faculty position with clinical work at Roland Park Place, a Lifecare community. Dr. Resnick's research interests focus on care of the older adult and include: health promotion and disease prevention; outcomes following rehabilitation, functional performance, and a special focus on motivation related to functional activities and exercise behavior, and testing outcomes of restorative care nursing programs and other innovative long-term care projects. Currently Dr. Resnick has an R01 from the National Institute of Aging to test the effectiveness of the exercise plus program in older adults post hip fracture, a second RO1 from AHRQ to test the effectiveness of a restorative care nursing program in long term care, is principle investigator on other projects related to motivation to engage in health behaviors, particularly physical activity, and exercise in older adults and is the co-investigator on other projects. Currently, Dr. Resnick has over 150 articles published in nursing and/or medical journals, and numerous chapters in nursing textbooks related to care of the older adult, and authored a recent book on restorative care nursing. She has also presented on these topics nationally and internationally.
Sally Watkins, PhD(c), RN
Director of Nursing Practice, Education & ResearchWashington State Nurses Association
Sally is the Director of Nursing Practice, Education & Research for the Washington State Nurses Association (WSNA). She has over thirty years of nursing experience, including more than fifteen years as a nursing administrator. Her accomplishments include providing leadership at the executive level for patient safety initiatives developing focused strategies such as addressing safe medication administration practice and implementation of rapid response teams. Sally has also been a nursing educator in a variety of roles since 1984 including Clinical Faculty for both the University of Washington School of Nursing in Seattle and Tacoma, and Pacific Lutheran University School of Nursing. She has been an active member of the Northwest Organization of Nurse Executives and is a recent past president of that organization. Sally recently completed her doctoral work in Organizational Behavior and Women's Studies at the Union Institute and University in Ohio. She has a Master of Science in nursing administration from the University of Utah College of Nursing and a Bachelor or Science in Nursing from the University of Texas.
