Rhoda Owens Ph.D., R.N.

Rhoda Owens Ph.D., R.N., is an assistant professor in the College of Nursing & Professional Disciplines at the University of North Dakota. Since 2015, she has been teaching full time in the undergraduate and graduate programs. Owens holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Minot State University, a Master of Science (Nursing) from UND, and a Ph.D. in Teaching and Learning/Higher Education from UND.

Owens has more than 10 years of academic experience. Prior to beginning at UND, she was on faculty for six years at Williston State College – Minot Site where she managed the site and taught practical nursing and associate degree nursing medical/surgical, role transition, health promotion and clinical courses. Prior to her academic career, Owens worked in clinical practice areas that include medical, surgical, home health/hospice, and pediatric nursing, hospital supervising, staff development and as a hospice coordinator. Presently, she also works in a casual position at Trinity Health’s First Care/Walk-in clinic in Minot, ND.

Much of Owens’ research focuses on role transition, nurses’ professional identity formation, rural health and nursing workforce. She has added grant-funded work to her academic career and currently serves as a Co-PI on a National Council of State Boards of Nursing grant-funded study, “Influence of professional quality of life and work satisfaction on intent to stay: A mixed-methods approach to inform policy and regulation.” This research project is a North Dakota statewide nursing workforce study.

Journal Articles

• Owens, R.A., & Zwilling, J.G. (2019). Nurse Practitioner Workforce: One Rural State’s Experience of Comparing State Data with National Trends. Journal for American Association of Nurse Practitioners (Accepted for publication 7-25-19)
• Owens, R.A. (2019). Exploring an innovative course delivery method for accelerated BSN Students. International Journal of Nursing Education Scholarship. DOI: 10.1515/ijnes-2019-0011
• Owens, R. A. (2018). Nurse practitioner role transition and identity development in rural healthcare settings: A scoping review. Nursing Education Perspectives. 40(3), doi: 10.1097/01.NEP.0000000000000455
• Owens, R.A. (2018). Transition experiences of new rural nurse practitioners. The Journal for Nurse Practitioners. 14(8), 605 – 611. doi: 10.1016/j.nurpra.2018.05.009 
• Owens, R.A. (2018). Two-year institution part-time nursing faculty experiences during their role transition and identity development: A phenomenological study. NursingEducation Perspectives. 39(1), 10-15. doi: 10.1097/01.NEP.0000000000000250
• Owens, R.A. (2017). Part-time nursing faculty perceptions of their learning needs during their role transition experiences. Teaching and Learning in Nursing.12(1), 12-16. doi:  dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.teln.2016.10.002
• Owens, R.A. (2012). Transcultural nursing course in Tanzania, Africa. Home Healthcare Nurse, 30(6), 347-352. doi: 10.1097/NHH.0b013e318257569a.
• Owens, R.A. (2008). Teaming up to improve the quality of surgical care. American Nurse    Today, 3(5, 25-26.
• Owens, R.A. (2006). The caring behaviors of the home health nurse and influence on medication adherence. Home Healthcare Nurse, 24(8), 517-526.
• Owens, R. A. (2012). Chapters 32, 34, 35, 36 and 37 of the Gastrointestinal System Unit. In L. White, G. Duncan, W. Baumle (Eds.), Medical-Surgical nursing an integrated approach (pp. 651 – 763). (3rd ed.). New York: Delmar Cengage Learning.  (Invited submission)

Published Abstracts

• Owens, R.A. (2019). 2019 Midwest Nursing Research Society Winning Abstracts: Student perceptions of learning in a hybrid professional development course. Western Journal of Nursing Research, (Published online June 25, 2019), 15 – 16 doi: 10.1177/0193945919857712
• Other Papers:
• Owens, R.A. & Zwilling, J. (2018). Nursing workforce in North Dakota. Fifth Biennial Report 2019: Health Issues for the State of North Dakota. (pp. 69 – 100). Grand Forks, ND: University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences. (Invited submission)
• Owens, R.A., & Zwilling, J. (2016). North Dakota Nurse Practitioners 2017: Understanding the workforce. University of North Dakota College of Nursing and Professional Disciplines

Classes Taught

• NURS 500: Theories and Concepts in Nursing
• NURS 526: Ethical, Legal, and Health Policy Issues in Healthcare
• NURS 474: Professional Role Development II
• NURS 400: Special Topics
• NURS 410: Clinical Reasoning for Safety and Quality Outcomes
• NURS 415: Interprofessional Collaborations for Improving Health Care Systems Outcomes

Areas of Expertise

• Nursing education teaching strategies, curriculum, and evaluation
• Nursing workforce – work satisfaction, intent to stay, recruitment and retention
• Nurse practitioner role transition and professional identity formation
• Rural health

Contact Information
Email: rhoda.owens@UND.edu
Office: 701.777.4175