Faculty Biographical Sketches

Joan Palladino, Department of Nursing

Dr. Joan Palladino joined the WCSU nursing faculty in the Fall 2004.  Dr. Palladino is an associate professor and current department chair was past undergraduate coordinator for the WCSU nursing Program. Dr. Palladino has been a nurse for 30 years working primarily in critical care. She earned her BSN from St. Joseph College in West Hartford, Connecticut in 1980, and an MSN in nursing education from the University of Hartford in 2004. In April 2004 Dr. Palladino was inducted into the Nursing Honor Society, Sigma Theta Tau. She received the peer recognition award from her fellow MSN graduates in May 2004. Dr. Palladino graduated from the University of Hartford’s Doctorate in Educational Leadership Program in May 2009. She received the prestigious Regent’s Award from the University of Hartford for her dissertation work.  Dr. Palladino’s research agenda involves support for new graduate nurses in their first employment after graduation and mentoring and support for nursing students.

Dr. Palladino is a member of American Nurses Association (ANA), the Connecticut Nurses’ Association (CNA) and the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN).  She is a member of the CNA Government Relations Committee and Chairs the Leadership Committee for CNA. She has been a Connecticut delegate to the ANA House of Delegates three times. Dr. Palladino has been a Certified Critical Care Nurse (CCRN) from 1999 to 2014. Dr. Palladino continues to practice in the acute care setting.  She is a certified instructor for Basic Life Support and Advanced Cardiac Life Support. She has participated in the Nurses’ Health Study from Harvard School of Public health for the past 15 years. Dr. Palladino is active in the WCSU community and serves on many university committee and also volunteers within her own community.