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Lauren M. O'Donnell

PhD, MSN, RN, NEA-BC
Associate Professor
Acute & Tertiary Care

Profile

Lauren M. O'Donnell is an Associate Professor of the Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP) Health Systems Executive Leadership, at the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing.

Before joining the Pitt faculty, she served as a nursing director for a national and international hospital system. Dr. O'Donnell was an advisor to system hospitals for C-suite executives, regarding patient satisfaction, quality outcomes, and financial implications. She is had numerous roles in the health care system, including a patient care services liaison for hospital construction and expansion project. Dr. O'Donnell received her Doctor of Philosophy at Robert Morris University, where she studied Instructional Management and Leadership. Preceding her doctor of philosophy, Dr. O'Donnell received a Nurse Executive - Advanced board certification (NEA-BC) from the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC).

Scholarly Emphasis

CMS Pay for Performance & Penalty Claims | Pediatrics |Patient Quality Outcomes |Health Research | Health Policy

Dr. O'Donnell has been the principal investigator on numerous research studies including multi-hospital research study reasearching 18 hospitals over a 5-year time frame. She also is an editor for Wolters Kluwers, Critical Care Nurses Made Incrediby Easy, for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), emergency care, drug overdose, and positoning. 

Service

Dr. O'Donnell currently holds a scientific review board member seat for the Institutional Review Board, University of Pittsburgh, Human Research Protection Office (HRPO). Simulanteously, She is a Director at Large board position for the Southwestern Pennsylvania Organization of Nurse Leaders (SWOPNL). She chairs the Legilsative and advocacy committe dedicated to improving and accelerating the nursing profession by developing and reviewing legislative initiatives within the state of Pennsylvania. Preceding SWOPNL and IRB leadership, Dr. O'Donnell was a board member of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Western Pennsylvania from 2018-2024.