Dana Tschannen
Dana Tschannen, PhD, RN
University of Michigan School of Nursing
400 North Ingalls Building
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-5482
Scholarly Expertise / Activity
Interests:
- Healthcare informatics: use of informatics to enhance evidence-based practice
- Technology enabled healthcare planning and communication
- Virtual simulation (Second Life) use in education and clinical practice
- Collaboration/communication
- Patient outcomes and work characteristics (e.g. nurse staffing)
Dr. Tschannen ardently embraces her interest in identifying and implementing the organizational processes, information, and collaboration/communication necessary to achieve high-quality patient outcomes. She examines the technology enabled care planning processes that are necessary to support effective nurse-nurse communication and safety, while also investigating the efficient implementation of those technology-backed processes. She addresses the various methods for data collection as well as training required to support the processes. In her current appointment, Dr. Tschannen works collaboratively with Nursing Administration at the UM Health System. She has worked closely with nurses at various levels in the promotion of evidence based practice and improvement in processes related to the delivery of care at the bedside. She is committed to advancing the role of systems in health care; linking technology, simulation, evidence based practice, skilled health care professionals and robust processes to deliver world-class care to patients in the 21st century.
Current Research Grants and Programs:
- “Increasing Clinical Competencies for Nursing Students using Simulated Virtual Experiences in Second Life” (Tschannen, D. Aebersold, M.) To create an 8 bed virtual hospital unit in Second Life. The virtual unit will be used to facilitate simulated virtual experiences to nursing students in two senior level courses. Grant funded by the University of Michigan’s Center for Research on Learning and Technology, 2008.
- 2010-Grant “Increasing Student Engagement through the Use of a Virtual Classroom” (Tschannen, D., Aebersold, M.) The purpose of this grant is to evaluate the integration of Second Life as an educational platform for learning among undergraduate and graduate students. The grant is funded by the Center for Research on Learning and Technology and will begin in the Fall of 2010.
Teaching
Dr. Tschannen teaches in the Division of Nursing Business and Health Systems. With instructional roles in both the graduate and undergraduate levels, she focuses on leadership and management skills required of nurses in the clinical setting. Using a variety of teaching strategies, she covers concepts of team building, delegation, motivation, negotiation and problem solving; all within an organizational content. At the undergraduate level, she teaches senior nursing students ready to embark on the move from classroom/student nursing to professional practice the transitional skills necessary to become highly successful nurses in their professional nursing practice upon graduation. At the graduate level she teaches Human Resources and Nursing Informatics. Dr. Tschannen helps students refine their skills in clinical judgment, priority setting, time management, interdisciplinary collaboration and communication. Further, utilizing the virtual simulation technology available via the Second Life platform, she is working to enhance student learning and to provide opportunities for application of topics learned in the classroom. With a faculty colleague, Dr. Tschannen is investigating the educational possibilities with a virtual School of Nursing in hopes of facilitating distance learning and social networking.
Affiliations / Service
- Member, Michigan Organization of Nurse Executives (MONE)
- Member, Sigma Theta Tau International
- Member, American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) (Secretary for the Clinical Information Systems Working Group (CISWG) of AMIA)
Notable Awards / Honors
- Poster honorable mention, Midwest Nursing Research Society, 2010
- Business Intelligence Data into Action Award (honorable mention), University of Michigan, April 2009
- Sharon Coleman Memorial Scholarship Award - “Most Influential to the Field” (Top Paper) SINI, University of Maryland, July 2006
- Macy Scholarship Award Winner (First), University of Michigan, School of Nursing, 2001-2005
Education
- PhD, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 2005
- MS, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 2002
- BSN, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 1997
Publication Highlights
- Tschannen, D., Talsma, A.N., Gombert, J., & Mowry, J. (in press). "Using the TRIP model to disseminate an IT-based pressure ulcer intervention. Western Journal of Nursing Research.
- Tschannen, D., & Aebersold, M. (in press). Improving student critical thinking skills through an RCA pilot project. Journal of Nursing Education.
- Tschannen, D., & Kalisch, B. (2009). The impact of nurse-physician collaboration on patient length of stay. Journal of Nursing Management.17(4), 796-803.
- Tschannen, D., & Kalisch, B. (2009). The effect of variations in nurse staffing on patient length of stay in the acute care setting. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 31(2), 153-170.
- Keenan, G., Tschannen, D., & Wesley, M. (2008). Standardized nursing terminologies can transform practice. JONA, 38(3), 103-106.
- Keenan, G., Yakel, B., Tschannen, D., & Mandeville, M. (2008). Documentation and the nurse care planning process. In Hughes, R. (ed). Patient safety and quality: An evidence-based handbook for nurses. (Prepared with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation). AHRQ Publication No. 08-0043. Rockville, MD: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
- Keenan, G., Tschannen, D. (2006). How Has Knowledge of Nurse/Physician Collaboration Grown? In Current issues in nursing (7th). In J. McCloskey-Dochterman & H. Grace (Eds). St. Louis: Mosby.
- Tschannen, D. (2005). Organizational structure, process, and outcome: The effects of nurse staffing and nurse-physician collaboration on patient length of stay. Unpublished Dissertation, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.
- Tschannen, D. (2004). The effect of individual characteristics on perceptions of collaboration in the work environment. MedSurg Nursing, 13(5), 312-318.
