David Picella, PhD, FNP, CNS, GS-C
Program Director, MSN Adult Gerontology Nurse Practitioner Program and Assistant Professor
David Picella’s academic/research interests are in community based health care systems that allow older adults to access age-friendly inter-professional healthcare services in their place of residence. He worked as a Palliative Care Clinical Nurse Specialist and Family Nurse Practitioner spending many years taking care of older adults in skilled nursing facilities, home settings, and assisted living centers. Working in physician led medical groups, he had the opportunity to interface with inter-professional teams working to provide for the needs of older adults with complex chronic, incurable, and often terminal medical conditions. He continues to provide nurse practitioner services to community dwelling elders while also serving as full-time faculty. He is the Director of the Adult Geriatric Nurse Practitioner Program. In 2019, Picella was awarded the US Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Geriatric Academic Career Award (GACA). The GACA award has provided vital support for the career development of more than 200 clinician-educators in geriatrics. This award has never been given to Nursing before, in 2019 he was one out of two to receive it.
Education
- MS, Nursing, California State University, Los Angeles
- PhD, Nursing, University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee
Credentials/Certifications
- Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS)
- Post-Master's Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP)
- Gerontological Specialist (GS-C)
Academic Area
- School of Nursing
Expertise
- Palliative Care Clinical Nurse Specialist
- Geriatrics
- Family Practice
Courses Taught
- GNRS 508 - Nursing Research
- GNRS 597 - Comprehensive Exam Seminar
- GNRS 581 - Primary Healthcare of Older Adults