Tricia Bernecker

Dr. Tricia Bernecker is an Associate Professor in the Division of Nursing at DeSales University. Her nursing career began with diverse patient populations including emergency, cardiac intensive care, medical/surgical intensive care, neuro-intensive care, and trauma. During her studies for a Master of Science in Nursing, Clinical Nurse Specialist program she worked as clinical faculty and as a Nurse Support Specialist. These roles were to support students for the successful completion of their nursing degrees. As an educator, Dr. Bernecker believes that students' well-being is most essential and that education should be a positive learning experience. After graduation, Dr. Bernecker began teaching critical care at DeSales University. She has taught traditional, ACCESS, and Accelerated undergraduate students acute care nursing for the last 15 years. After receiving her Ph.D., she began teaching research and evidence-based practice for the undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs. She also teaches in the Clinical Nurse Specialist Program. Dr. Bernecker serves in a Collaborative Academic-Service Partnership as a Visiting Nurse Scientist with Lehigh Valley Health Network. This is an innovative role to advance nursing research into clinical and operational processes. Dr. Bernecker has an active research agenda that includes the study of invulnerability, missed care, family presence, and prevalence of pathogenic bacteria. Dr. Bernecker has been published in peer-reviewed journals and recently a contributor for the 15th edition of Brunner & Suddarth's Textbook of Medical-Surgical Nursing, Chapter 22: Management of Patients with Arrhythmias and Conduction Disorders. Dr. Bernecker also actively serves on doctorial committees to advance nurse science. Lastly, Dr. Bernecker loves spending time with her husband and two children, especially at the beach during the summer months.