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Ms. Anita Kovalsky

ANITA ANDREWS KOVALSKY, RN, MNED, CNE
CLINICAL NURSING PROGRAM DIRECTOR/NURSING PROFESSOR

GRADUATE
University of Pittsburgh
MNEd, Nursing - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

UNDERGRADUATE
Carlow University
BSN, Nursing - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Anita Kovalsky has been an associate degree nurse educator for over 35 years. She earned a BSN from Carlow University, a MNEd from the University of Pittsburgh, and is a Certified Nurse Educator. She began her nursing career at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) in the critical care arena, where she later worked as a nurse manager. Subsequently, she taught for 18 years at the Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC) in Pittsburgh, where she later served as the Nursing Department Chairperson.

Anita began teaching at Valencia College in 2001 and has been the Assistant Nursing Program Director since 2006. As the fundamentals course leader at Valencia, Anita incorporated an in-depth gerontological assessment into the clinical component of the course, as well as simulation scenarios which reinforced basic patient-nurse therapeutic communication, describing this work in the Dean’s Notes article, “Integration of Patient Care Simulators into the Nursing Curriculum Can Enhance a Student’s Ability to Perform in the Clinical Setting.”

She has presented simulation workshops at the NLN Education Summit, Drexel University’s nursing simulation conferences, and the Florida Summit on Health Sciences Education.

She also served on the Panel of Experts in Geriatric Nursing Education (PEGNE) for the ACES (Advancing Care Excellence for Seniors) grant, funded by the John A. Hartford Foundation, which is a collaborative effort between the National League for Nursing and Community College of Philadelphia (CCP). Laerdal Medical Corporation is providing support to develop simulations and unfolding case studies related to care of older adults. ACES also received funding from the Independence Foundation of Philadelphia, CCP's local funding partner and The Hearst Foundations.

Professional Memberships:

American Nurses Association (ANA) -
Florida Nurses Association (FLN)
•National League for Nursing Ambassador/Member - Florida League for Nursing (FLN)
Past officer and member of Association of Nurses in AIDs Care (ANAC) - Central Florida Association of Nurses in AIDS Care (CFANAC)

Sigma Theta Tau International Nurses Honor Society, Theta Epsilon chapter

Certifications:
Simulation Specialist/Simulation Instructor from the International Academy for Clinical Simulation and Research at the University of Miami.

Certified Nurse Educator (CNE)