Patricia Tuite | School of Nursing | University of Pittsburgh

PhD, RN, CCNS, FCNS

Director of the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Program

Coordinator, Adult-Gerontology CNS Major

Associate Professor

Acute & Tertiary Care

Profile

Dr. Tuite is an Associate Professor in the Department of Acute & Tertiary Care and the coordinator of the Adult-Gerontology Clinical Nurse Specialist (AG-CNS) major. Dr. Tuite also serves as the Director of the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program from 2019. Dr. Tuite has mentored over 80 CNS students during her teaching career. She has authored numerous publications focusing on improving patient outcomes. Her expertise and research have been shared widely, with both poster and podium presentations. She maintains a clinical practice as a CNS and works passionately to advance the role of the CNS. Dr. Tuite was recently inducted into the Clinical Nurse Specialist Institute as a Fellow.

Clinical Emphasis

Dr. Tuite’s expertise lies in critical care, primarily cardio-pulmonary, and quality and process improvement. She has been a clinical nurse specialist for over 30 years. Dr. Tuite has experience teaching in academia as well as working as a critical care CNS. She still maintains a faculty practice in the UPMC health system at Presbyterian University Hospital. Dr. Tuite sits on the Evidence based practice committee at UPMC and works to facilitate the implementation of evidence-based practice projects within the acute care environment by working with other Clinical Nurse Specialists in the UPMC system.

Scholarly Emphasis

Dr. Tuite has published and presented in the areas of critical care and implementation of quality improvement and evidence-based projects within the healthcare setting. Her interests lie in improving the quality of patient care, facilitating evidence-based practice within the acute care areas, and improving patient outcomes.

Teaching

Dr. Tuite teaches in the graduate program in DNP related courses and facilitates the completion of DNP projects. She is responsible for teaching all the adult gerontology clinical nurse specialist courses and at times guest lectures in the adult gerontology acute care nurse practitioner courses. In addition to teaching graduate students, Dr. Tuite teaches 4th year undergraduate students in the medical-surgical courses lecturing on critical care topics and coordinating clinical placements. Dr. Tuite taught the undergraduate pathophysiology course for over 15 years.

Service

Dr. Tuite has been a member of the National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists (NACNS) for over 20 years and has served on various committees within the organization. Dr. Tuite sits on the Program Directors Advisory Board of NACNS and was newly elected to the Executive Board as the Secretary/Treasurer for the organization. Most recently Dr. Tuite served as the Chair of the NACNS Graduate Education Committee. She is also a member of the Pennsylvania affiliate of NACNS. Dr. Tuite also has memberships in the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (both nationally & locally), the Society of Critical Care Medicine and the American Heart Association. She is currently serving as a volunteer on the Science Advisory Panel for professional education for the American Heart Association. Dr. Tuite is also a member of the Eta Chapter of Sigma where she did serve on the governance committee. In addition to her committee service, Dr. Tuite also is a manuscript reviewer for Journal of Clinical Nurse Specialist, Dimensions of Critical Care, Critical Care Nursing Quarterly and recently asked to review for Nursing Outlook.