David Picella, PhD, FNP, CNS, GS-C, CPG

Program Director, MSN Adult Gerontology Nurse Practitioner Program and Assistant Professor

Phone: (626) 815-6000, Ext. 4482
Office Location: Building One, Room #355
Photo of David Picella, PhD, FNP, CNS, GS-C, CPG

Biography

David Picella’s academic and research interests are in community based healthcare systems that allow older adults to access age-friendly and dementia-friendly inter-professional healthcare services in their place of residence.

Picella has worked as a palliative care clinical nurse specialist and family nurse practitioner spending many years taking care of older adults in skilled clinics, 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 residential based primary care (RBPC) services to community-dwelling older adults 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)
  • Certified Professional Gerontologist (CPG)

Academic Area

  • School of Nursing
    • Graduate Programs

Expertise

  • Family Practice
  • Geriatrics
  • Palliative Care Clinical Nurse Specialist

Courses Taught

  • GNRS 508 - Nursing Research
  • GNRS 597 - Comprehensive Exam Seminar
  • GNRS 581 - Primary Healthcare of Older Adults
  • GNRS 592B - Primary Health Care Clinical Practicum
  • GNRS 597 - Comprehensive Examination Directed Study
  • GNRS 612L - Advanced Health Assessment Lab