Faculty Profiles

Michelle Nighswander, PhD, MSN-Ed, BSN, BC, is an Assistant Professor at the St. David’s School of Nursing at Texas State University in Round Rock, Texas. She earned her PhD at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas, and her MSN-Ed at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. Her research focus is childhood mental disabilities and how these conditions impact families. Her research has explored the many origins of parents' stressors, what parents view as their greatest unmet needs, and the hidden impact of a child's mental condition on spousal relationships, siblings, and the parents themselves. Her passion is to create better pathways for support and collaboration between families and the healthcare professionals and educators who work with these children. In addition, she strives to protect the rights of children and adults with disabilities, especially in education.

My research focuses on the challenges surrounding childhood mental disabilities and the impact these conditions have upon families. I want to investigate methods to assist parents and families raising children with mental disabilities, as well as create effective supports to strengthen families so we may improve children's successful transition to adulthood. My initial research explored how parents managed their daily parenting challenges caused by childhood emotional disturbance. I wish to validate those qualitative findings in a larger sample, as well as study methods to assist parents' coping with these challenging conditions. My research goals are to find provide parents and families with management methods which can be utilized in the home environment, to relieve the isolation and lack of confidence parents currently experience, and improve collaboration between parents, healthcare professionals and educational professionals for the betterment of the child's long-term outcome.

I currently teach in the undergraduate program at the St David's School of Nursing at Texas State University. My long-term teaching goals include expanding into teaching in the graduate level courses as well as our new online courses.