Rutgers School of Nursing—Camden

We are pleased to share the publication of two recent scholarly works by Dr. Brigitte S. Cypress in Nursing Outlook and Advances in Nursing Science.

These publications reflect the School’s mission of advancing nursing science, promoting health equity, strengthening evidence-based practice, and preparing nurse scholars and leaders equipped to address complex health challenges across diverse populations and healthcare systems.

Nursing Outlook, the official journal of the American Academy of Nursing, is a leading journal in nursing leadership, policy, education, and health systems scholarship. Advances in Nursing Science is internationally recognized for advancing the development of nursing knowledge and promoting the integration of nursing philosophies, theories, and research with practice.
These scholarly contributions advance ongoing conversations related to family engagement and resilience, collective healing, and nursing science.

Citations:
Cypress, B. S. (2026). Family engagement as a resilience-building process in adult intensive care: A theory-guided integrative synthesis. Nursing Outlook, 74(3), Article 102798. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2026.102798
Cypress, B. S. (2026). Collective healing: A relational and meaning-centered concept in nursing science. Advances in Nursing Science. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1097/ANS.0000000000000650

Congratulations to the School of Nursing DNP students who graduated today! The faculty and staff are proud of all the hard work and commitment you put in these last few years.

Proud of Dr. Harsimar Sawhney! Not only did she earn her BSN degree but now her DNP degree as well.

The 2026 Evening of Excellence celebrated the extraordinary accomplishments and dedication of Rutgers School of Nursing faculty, students, clinical, and community partners. The event reflected the School’s mission of advancing nursing science, promoting health equity, fostering clinical excellence, and preparing nurse leaders committed to improving health outcomes across diverse communities.

The evening also showcased our students' Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) projects, highlighting innovation, scholarship, leadership, interprofessional collaboration, and the translation of evidence into practice to strengthen patient care, healthcare systems, and population health outcomes.

This week at the School of Nursing-Camden Faculty Retreat we honored two faculty members for completing their doctoral degrees! Congratulations to Dr. McGuinness & Dr. Ortiz! We are so proud of you!

Dr. Kimberly McGuinness is the Community Course Coordinator and Lead Site Supervisor for our AmeriCorps Program. Dr. Arcilia Mercedes Ortiz is the Director of the School Nurse Certificate and MSN programs.

Dr. Stephen Maina successfully defended his EBP project entitled, “Implementation of an Evidence-Based Lifestyle Counseling Protocol to Optimize GLP-1 RA Therapy for Weight Management: A Quality Improvement Project,” under the guidance of Chair Dr. Brigitte Cypress and Committee Member Dr. Jennifer Sipe. Congratulations, Dr. Maina!

Please look for additional photos of DNP students as they complete their DNP Project Presentations.

Thank you to everyone who participated in last evening's "Mock Interviews for Nurse Practitioners" event! This annual event is always a great resource for our DNP students.

We are proud to announce that Dr. Brigitte S. Cypress’s manuscript, “Family Engagement as a Resilience-Building Process in Adult Intensive Care: A Theory-Guided Integrative Synthesis,” has been accepted for publication in Nursing Outlook, the official journal of the American Academy of Nursing—a highly selective and influential forum for scholarship advancing health policy, leadership, systems-level innovation, and the future of nursing.

This accomplishment reflects the rigor and significance of her work, as publication in Nursing Outlook is highly competitive and widely regarded as impactful in advancing the field. Dr. Cypress’s scholarship advances a systems-level reconceptualization of family engagement as a resilience-building process in adult intensive care, with implications for improving communication, trust, shared decision-making, and equitable, family-centered outcomes. Contributing to nursing practice and the global literature on family science, this work also informs leadership and policy efforts to strengthen health systems and advance high-quality critical care.

Congratulations to Assistant Professor of Nursing Jamille Nagtalon-Ramos! The Rutgers University Board of Governors approved her promotion from Assistant Professor to Associate Professor with tenure effective July 1, 2026.

Dr. Jamille Nagtalon-Ramos, EdD, WHNP-BC, FAANP, FNPWH, FAAN, is an internationally recognized clinician, researcher, award-winning author, educator, and community builder. She is an Assistant Professor at Rutgers University and a board-certified women’s health nurse practitioner at Penn Medicine. In 2003, she pioneered the first obstetric nurse practitioner hospitalist role in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Nagtalon-Ramos’ scholarship centers on the sexual and reproductive health of Filipino women across the global diaspora, with a focus on addressing long-standing gaps in data, representation, and culturally responsive care. She founded the Pinay Health Research Collaborative, an interdisciplinary initiative dedicated to advancing research, education, and community engagement focused on the health and well-being of Filipinas. Through the collaborative, she brings together scholars, clinicians, students, and community partners to examine issues such as maternal health, reproductive justice, migration, identity, and health disparities, affecting Filipina communities worldwide. The collaborative also serves as a platform for mentoring emerging scholars and elevating Filipina voices in health scholarship.

Committed to global education and cross-cultural learning, Dr. Nagtalon-Ramos developed Rutgers University’s first-ever Philippines learning abroad program, establishing international partnerships that expand student learning opportunities and strengthen Rutgers’ global engagement. The program immerses students in Filipino culture while examining global women’s health and social determinants that shape health outcomes in the Philippines.

Dr. Nagtalon-Ramos has authored numerous peer-reviewed articles, textbook chapters, and seven nursing textbooks that have sold over 20,000 copies globally. She led the 6th edition of Kelsey’s Midwifery & Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner Certification Review Guide.

She was named a 2025 Fellow of both the American Academy of Nursing and the National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health. In 2019, she was inducted as a Fellow of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, where she currently serves as FAANP’s Executive Committee Chair-Elect.

Congratulations to Assistant Professor of Nursing Sangita Pudasainee-Kapri! The Rutgers University Board of Governors approved her promotion from Assistant Professor to Associate Professor with tenure effective July 1, 2026.

Dr. Sangita Pudasainee-Kapri, PhD, DNP, RN, APN, FNP-BC, CPN is an Assistant Professor at Rutgers University, School of Nursing-Camden. She is a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner and holds advanced certifications in Global Health and Specialty certification in Pediatric Nursing. Dr. Pudasainee-Kapri brings a strong foundation in mixed-methods research and advanced quantitative and qualitative research methodologies, with expertise in analyzing large, longitudinal, nationally representative datasets focused on maternal and child health. Bridging child development, public health, and nursing, her interdisciplinary program of research consists of two complementary streams with a common goal of improving maternal and child health glocally. The first area of her research examines the influence of social determinants of health and clinical factors on perinatal mental health and developmental outcomes among at-risk children—particularly those born preterm or with low birth weight—across global contexts. These studies seek to deepen understanding of the factors that shape perinatal mental health and infant outcomes, ultimately providing a foundation for targeted, evidence-based, and culturally tailored interventions. The second stream of her research focuses on structural and social factors contributing to asthma health disparities and self-management behaviors among low-income and minority children and adolescents—an area informed by over a decade of pediatric clinical experience and driven by her deep commitment to improving outcomes for underserved pediatric populations. She has an extensive publication record of peer-reviewed empirical, theoretical, evidence-based and review articles in high-impact nursing and interdisciplinary journals such as Nursing Outlook, Journal of School Health, Journal of Pediatric Nursing, Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, PLOS One and PLOS Global Health, and Infant Behavior and Development. In recognition of her impactful community-engaged scholarship, exemplary teaching, and international leadership and service, Dr. Pudasainee-Kapri has received numerous prestigious honors, awards, and competitive fellowships at both national and international levels, along with multiple media mentions.