Catherine Hennessy
Deirdre Mulligan
Christine M. Davies
A.A.S., Rockland Community College
B.S.N., Dominican University
FNP, Family Nurse Practitioner, Pace University
M.A., Pace University
M.S., Pace University
D.N.P., Doctor of Nursing Practice Dominican University
Dr. Davies has been teaching at Dominican University since the fall of 2009 and is a tenured full-time nursing faculty in both the Traditional Bachelor of Science Nursing Program and the Weekday Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program. Dr. Davies earned a Master of Art in Nursing Education from Pace University in 2009, and in December 2013, she completed the Advanced Graduate Studies Masters of Science Family Nurse Practitioner Program at Pace University. Dr. Davies then in 2019 earned a Doctor of Nursing Practice Degree from Dominican University. She has many years of Critical Care nursing experience, and other specialty areas including pediatrics, operating room, and community / public health nursing. Dr. Davies has received several Honors and Awards throughout the years, which include the Dr. John Hopkins Award for Excellence in Nursing, The United States Army Perseverance Award at Dominican University, The Outstanding Student of the Year award at Pace University, and was chosen as one of the “Top 100 Alumni of Distinction” at Dominican University in 2013. Dr. Davies is a Board Member for United Women of Rockland, Inc., serving as their Medical Liaison.
In 2024, Christine was honored as the “Woman of the Year” by the MOM Foundation. The foundation’s mission is to educate women and children, to empower them to become leaders and to be self-reliant.
Professional Interests:
As a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), and Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP), Dr. Davies provides healthcare that revolves around the family unit, from health promotion and disease prevention, to direct care and counseling across the lifespan. She is also a member of the International Honor Society for Nursing Sigma Theta Tau, National Alliance of Certified Legal Nurse Consultants, and the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. Dr. Davies is involved at the community level and continues her interests in NCLEX-RN success.
Publications:
Davies C.M., Franzese, P.F. (2021). It’s not Okay! The Importance of Educating our Population Taking Prescribed Controlled Substances, Regarding the Risks for Dependency and Addiction. Journal of Epidemiology and Public Health Reviews 6(2): dx.doi.org/10.16966/2471-8211.215 https://sciforschenonline.org/journals/epidemiology-public-health/article-data/JEPHR215/JEPHR215.pdf
Shanahan-Davies C. (2020). Bioethics Human Papillomavirus and HPV Vaccine. Journal of Regenerative Biology and Medicine. Google Scholar DOI: https://doi.org/10.37191/Mapsci-2582-385X-1(1)-002 https://www.maplespub.com/article/BIOETHICS-HUMAN-PAPILLOMAVIRUS-AND-HPV-VACCINE
Shanahan-Davies C. (2019). Bioethics Human Papillomavirus and HPV Vaccine. Jacobs Journal of Vaccines and Vaccination. JJ Vaccine Vaccination 2019; 5(1): 018. https://jacobspublishers.com/journals/jacobs-journal-of-vaccines-and-vaccination/fulltext/bioethics-human-papillomavirus-and-hpv-vaccine
Alice Arden
M.A., New York University
B.S., University of Scranton
ANP-BC, Certified Adult Nurse Practitioner
ACNP-BC, Certified Acute Care Nurse Practitioner
Professor Arden started teaching at Dominican University as an adjunct nursing instructor in the fall of 2013. She joined the nursing faculty as a full time instructor in August of 2016. Professor Arden has many years of nursing experience; working both in medical surgical nursing, critical care, and most recently as an adult nurse practitioner in cardiology. She currently practices as an NP at a local acute care facility on the cardiology service. Professor Arden is certified as an adult nurse practitioner as well as an acute care nurse practitioner, recognized by the American Nurses Credentialing Center. She is also a certified basic cardiac life support (BCLS) instructor and an advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) provider by the American Heart Association.
Professional Interests:
Professor Arden has been active with the New York City Chapter of the American College of Cardiology, (ACC) working on their annual Cardiovascular Team Symposium. She is a current member of the ACC as a Cardiac Care Associate (CCA). Professor Arden is interested in the diagnosis, management and prevention of coronary artery disease.
Nancy DiDona
RNC-MNN, Certified Maternal/Newborn Nurse
B.S.N., Pace University
M.S.N., C.N.S., College of New Rochelle
Ed.M., Teachers College, Columbia University
Ed.D., Teachers College, Columbia University
Dr. DiDona has over 40 years of experience as a Registered Professional Nurse and 27 years as a nurse educator. She has taught undergraduate and graduate level courses, and has been the Division Director since 2010. Dr. DiDona is certified by NCC as a Maternal/Newborn Nurse, and presently teaches Family Health Nursing and Nursing Mathematics. She is the author of three textbooks and has completed writing the second edition of her Strategies and Skills for Test Taking as an online book. Dr. DiDona has given presentations on topics such as “How to Navigate an IRB” and “The Future of Nursing Education.”
Professional Interests:
Dr. DiDona’s professional interests include NCLEX preparation and success, curriculum advancement, and policy and procedure development.
Patty Furlong
B.S.N., College of Mount Saint Vincent
M.A., Nursing Administration/Education, New York University
Post Master’s Certificate, Health Care Administration, New York University
Post Master’s Certificate, Adult Acute Care Nurse Practitioner, New York University
D.N.P., Fairleigh Dickinson University
Professor Furlong is board-certified as an Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner. Her clinical experience includes working in critical care settings (MICU, SICU, CTICU, and CCU) and in peri-operative services (Operating Room, PACU, and Ambulatory Care). She has worked in various positions at major medical centers throughout the New York area; as a staff nurse at New York University Medical Center, Nurse Educator at Sound Shore Medical Center, Clinical Nurse Specialist at Montefiore Medical Center (Einstein Division), and Adult Acute Care Nurse Practitioner at Westchester Medical Center and Mount Sinai Medical Center. Professor Furlong’s teaching experience includes adjunct at New York University for their accelerated program in nursing, Nurse Educator for Sound Shore Medical Center. She is currently delighted to be teaching at Dominican University in the graduate nursing programs.
Professional Interests:
Professor Furlong is the current President of Sigma Theta Tau, Zeta Omega Chapter At Large – the National Honor Society for Nursing. She also serves as a member of the Dominican University Academic Technology Committee.
Nelly Vega-Woo
B.S.N., College of Mount Saint Vincent
FNP, Certified Family Nurse Practitioner
M.S., State University of New York Downstate
D.N.P., University of Massachusetts Amherst
Dr. Vega-Woo is a full-time faculty member in the Division of Nursing. Her areas of expertise include critical care and family practice. She received her Doctor of Nursing Practice in 2014 after presenting her thesis “Radiation Overexposure from Computed Tomography of the Brain.” She has over 13 years critical care nursing experience, 7 of which have been in the acute care inpatient setting as a board certified Family Nurse Practitioner. She began teaching at Dominican University in 2013, at which time she became Coordinator of the Nursing Skills and Simulation lab. Soon after her start, she was awarded a significant grant that allowed her to purchase many enhancements for the lab, bringing the teaching and learning process to the 21st century. Under the direction of Dr. Vega-Woo, the Skills and Simulation lab affords an innovative learning environment for students to transition into professional practice.
Professional Interests:
Dr. Vega-Woo chairs the Nursing Faculty Affairs Committee which organizes the annual Rockland County Nurse Recognition Day. She is also Vice President of the Dominican University Sigma Theta Tau Zeta Omega Chapter that honors nursing student scholars. She maintains up to date on all current healthcare issues and continues to meet required certification standards of practice as a nurse practitioner.
Barbara Polowczyk
AAS: Pace University
BSN: Pace University
MSN Clinical Nurse Specialist: Pace University
Certificate Advanced Graduation Study: Family Nurse Practitioner: Pace University
DNP at Dominican University
Professor Polowczyk‘s forty-year nursing career includes working in various roles in acute care hospitals, staff nurse, head nurse, clinical nurse specialist, and Dominican University. Barbara was the RN-BSN coordinator from 2015-2023 and currently, she is the coordinator of Dominican University’s WABSN and Evening Traditional programs.
Professional Interests:
Barbara is interested in promoting service excellence by providing her patients with the highest quality of care.
Catherine O’Sullivan
B.S.N., Herbert H. Lehman College, CUNY
M.S.N., Adult Nurse Practitioner, College of Mount Saint Vincent
Professor O’Sullivan has been with Dominican University since 2015. She started as an adjunct clinical instructor and is now a full time faculty member. She has over 25 years of clinical nursing experience in the areas of medical- surgical nursing and critical care. She is certified in Medical- Surgical Nursing by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC).
Professional Interests:
Professor O’Sullivan is interested in acute care of adult clients with a focus on cardiology. Her goal is to prepare nursing students to be successful in today’s dynamic health care environment.
AnneMarie McDermott
A.S.N., Nassau Community College
B.S.N., Pace University
FNP-BC, Certified Family Nurse Practitioner
M.S.N., Pace University
D.N.P., Pace University
Dr. McDermott is a full-time faculty member and has been with Dominican University since 2007. She has over 25 years of experience and expertise in the fields of critical care, emergency medicine, and family medicine in a variety of clinical settings. She is a certified critical care nurse (CCRN) as well as a certified family nurse practitioner. Dr. McDermott currently practices as family nurse practitioner in both acute care and outpatient patient settings.
Margaret DeLorenzo
A.S.N., Rockland Community College
B.S.N, Dominican University
M.S.N.ed, University of Medicine and Dentistry (UMDNJ)/Ramapo College
Ed.D., Northeastern University, Boston
Dr. DeLorenzo coordinates the weekday Traditional Nursing program. She has over 40 years experience as a Registered Professional Nurse, and 17 + years as a nurse educator. Dr. DeLorenzo has taught in both the graduate and undergraduate programs at Dominican University.
Professional Interests:
Dr. DeLorenzo most recently completed her doctoral dissertation on faculty classroom experiences related to NCLEX-RN success. She is a member of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing. Dr. DeLorenzo is involved at the community level and continues her interests in NCLEX-RN success.