Research Fellow
Department
Department of Systems, Populations and Leadership
University Affilliations
National Clinician Scholars Program
Contact
University of Michigan School of Nursing
400 North Ingalls Building
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-5482
Interests
Rapid response systems
Patient safety and quality of care
Critical care
Emergency care
Health services research
Dr. Rebecca Piasecki is a nurse scientist, health services researcher, and current VA Scholar in the National Clinician Scholars Program in partnership with the University of Michigan and the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System. Dr. Piasecki’s research centers on “collateral strain,” which examines how the urgent mobilization of direct care teams and unit-level resources to respond to emergent patient events can inadvertently impact the care and safety of surrounding patients. Her work aims to identify and quantify these effects to inform more resilient and equitable models of healthcare delivery for veterans during hospital admissions. Dr. Piasecki has an extensive background in secondary data analyses, leveraging a wide range of data sources to study population- and system-level drivers of care quality. Her broader research interests include care delivery, quality, and decision-making related to critical illness.
Teaching
As a nurse educator, Dr. Piasecki views teaching as a collaborative, hands-on process that fosters lifelong learning, critical thinking, and professional growth. Every nurse—novice or expert—is still a student, and she models that mindset for her learners. Dr. Piasecki’s teaching approach emphasizes the real-world application of foundational concepts, active learning, and building confidence through simulation, peer interaction, and reflective dialogue. She has applied this philosophy in her experiences co-teaching graduate-level courses in advanced pathophysiology and biostatistics, guest lecturing, and mentoring in interprofessional education. Dr. Piasecki strives to cultivate a learning environment where students and educators grow together, challenge and empower one another, and ultimately become compassionate, evidence-driven healthcare leaders.
Affilliations/Service
Invited Ad Hoc Peer Reviewer, Journal of Clinical Nursing, 2024 - present
Invited Ad Hoc Peer Reviewer, Journal of Clinical and Translation Science, 2021 - present
Invited Ad Hoc Peer Reviewer, Quality Management in Healthcare, 2020 - present
Professional Member, American Heart Association, 2017 - present
Member, Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing - Rho Chapter (University of Michigan), 2012 - present
Notable Awards/Honors
Philip D. Raso Scholarship, Nurses Educational Funds, 2019-2020
Dean’s PhD Scholarship, Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, 2016-2019
James B. Angell Scholar, University of Michigan, 2013
Eloise H. Sheldon Scholarship, University of Michigan School of Nursing
Publications Highlights
Piasecki, R.J., Hunt, E.A., Perrin, N., Spaulding, E.M., Winters, B., Samuel, L., Davidson, P.M., Chandra Strobos, N., Churpek, M., & Himmelfarb, C,R. American Heart Association's Get With The Guidelines®-Resuscitation Investigators. Understanding pediatric clinical deterioration through rapid response system trigger clusters. (Accepted at Hospital Pediatrics).
Piasecki, R.J., Hunt, E.A., Perrin, N., Spaulding, E.M., Winters, B., Samuel, L., Davidson, P.M., Chandra Strobos, N., Churpek, M., Himmelfarb, C.R., American Heart Association's Get With The Guidelines®-Resuscitation Investigators (2024). Using rapid response system trigger clusters to characterize patterns of clinical deterioration among hospitalized adult patients. Resuscitation, 194, 110041. doi: 10.1016/j.resuscitation.2023.110041. PMID: 37952578.
Piasecki, R.J., Himmelfarb, C.R.D., Gleason, K.T., Justice, R.M., & Hunt, E.A. (2023). The associations between rapid response systems and their components with patient outcomes: A scoping review. International Journal of Nursing Studies Advances, 5, 100134. doi: 10.1016/j.ijnsa.2023.100134. PMID: 38125770. PMCID: PMC10732356.
Spaulding, E. M., Marvel, F. A., Piasecki, R. J., Martin, S. S., & Allen, J. K. (2021). User engagement with smartphone apps and cardiovascular disease risk factor outcomes: Systematic review. JMIR Cardio, 5(1), e18834. https://doi.org/10.2196/18834. PMID: 33533730. PMCID: PMC8411427.
Piasecki, R. J., Quarles, E. D., Bahouth, M. N., Nandi, A., Bilheimer, A., Carter-Edwards, L., & Dennison-Himmelfarb, C. R. (2020). Aligning community-engaged research competencies with online training resources across the Clinical and Translational Science Award Consortium. Journal of Clinical and Translational Science, 5(1), e45. https://doi.org/10.1017/cts.2020.538. PMID: 33948267. PMCID: PMC8057417.
Mendez, K. J. W., Piasecki, R. J., Hudson, K., Renda, S., Mollenkopf, N., Nettles, B. S., & Han, H. R. (2020). Virtual and augmented reality: Implications for the future of nursing education. Nurse Education Today, 93, 104531. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2020.104531. PMID: 32711132.