Faculty in Action

After graduating from Wayne State University with a bachelor’s degree in nursing, Ronald Piscotty, PhD, RN-BC, assistant professor, spent a couple of years working in a clinical care setting. While he enjoyed working with children and families, he became frustrated with the administrative aspects of documenting patient visits. Piscotty noticed the same information had to be entered in three or four different places and figured there had to be a method to make the documentation more efficient. Piscotty decided he wanted to do more than provide bedside care; he wanted to help improve work processes for nurses. So Piscotty returned to school, earning a master’s degree in nursing business and health systems with a concentration in informatics and later a PhD in nursing systems from the University of Michigan. As he neared the end of his master’s program, Piscotty began working for a community hospital as a nursing information management coordinator. His primary responsibility was implementing electronic health records at the hospital, which led him to become even more passionate about the impact of technology and information on clinical practices. Today, Piscotty serves as a faculty member and researcher in nursing informatics at the University of Maryland School of Nursing. He decided to join the School’s faculty because of its stellar reputation in nursing informatics, education, and research. Piscotty, who began working at the School in 2015, advises students to understand the expectations of their program and to dedicate themselves to the work. Piscotty says nursing exists because of a social mandate from society to provide care to improve the lives of those in need; to effectively carry out that mandate, patients must be the priority, whether it is in research, practice, education, or leadership. Studying required material, discussing issues with fellow students and faculty, and understanding what can be improved or built upon are keys to success in nursing.