Faculty Profile for Dr. Monica Hughes

profile photo for Dr. Monica Hughes
Dr. Monica Hughes
Clinical Assistant Professor — St. David's School of Nursing
SON 358
phone: (512) 716-2984

Biography Section

Biography and Education

Monica Hughes received her Advanced Public Health Nursing Doctorate in Nursing Practice from Rush University in Chicago, MSN in Nursing Education with a graduate certificate in Nursing Systems Management from the University of Texas at El Paso, and a BSN from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. Dr. Hughes has worked in many facets of public health and nursing leadership over a 30-year nursing career, most recently as the Director of Public Health Nursing for the Texas Department of State Health Services and the Director of Education for a faith and health nonprofit. Dr. Hughes' practice focus began in obstetrics and newborn nursing, and she has since worked in public health and nursing workforce development, health policy, and family and community health services in conjunction with governmental and non-governmental agencies, faith-based entities, and home maternal child health services. She has worked as a consultant on national public health workforce assessment and as an educator of nurses, nursing students, and community health workers.

Dr. Hughes is a board-certified Nurse Executive and a Certified Nurse Educator. She is also a certified instructor of Community Health Workers. Dr. Hughes is a member of the Association of Public Health Nurses and the American Public Health Association, as well as the Association of Community Health Nurse Educators, American Nurses Association, the Texas Nurses Association, and the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing. Dr. Hughes is the recipient of a prestigious Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Public Health Nurse Leader designation, along with a fellowship and leadership training with the Centers for Creative Leadership and the Texas Team Campaign for Action. She is a Community Health Worker/Promotora Advisory Committee member for the Texas Department of State Health Services, a Johnson and Johnson Promise of Nursing’s Future Texas Regional Faculty Fellowship recipient and has received many awards and honors.

Teaching Interests

Dr. Hughes teaching expertise is in community and population health nursing; nursing leadership; maternity and newborn nursing; nursing professional development; and public health.

Research Interests

Dr. Hughes' primary research focus is public health and nursing workforce (assessment, development, and expansion). Dr. Hughes also studies community health workers and community organizations engaged in population health, with a focus on faith entities and other community stakeholders as partners in health.

Selected Scholarly/Creative Work

  • Hughes, M. J., Kuehnert, P., & Swider, S. (2023). A Strategy for Strengthening: Implementation of the Capabilities Opportunities Assessment Tool for the Public Health Workforce. Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, 29(November/ December 2023), 823–830. https://doi.org/10.1097/PHH.0000000000001801
  • Cropley, S. L., Hughes, M. J., & Belcik, K. D. (2022). Engaging Leadership Competencies Through Population Health Policy Advocacy: A Review of the Evidence. Policy, Politics & Nursing Practice, 23(4), 259–271. https://doi.org/10.1177/15271544221112893
  • Hughes, M. J. (2021). Students, stress, and pandemic: An occupational health perspective for 2020’s nursing education. Journal of Nursing Education, 60(12), 674–679. https://doi.org/10.3928/01484834-20211004-02
  • Hughes, M. J., & Campbell, L. A. (2020, April). Preparing now for after COVID-19: The need to strengthen public health nursing. Texas Nursing, 2020(2), 116–117. Retrieved from https://issuu.com/texasnurses/docs/tn-issue2-2020-digital
  • Hughes, M. J. (2019, October). To remind, encourage, and recognize: An open letter to all Texas public health nurses. Texas Public Health Journal. Longview, TX, USA: Texas Public Health Association. Retrieved from https://www.texaspha.org/page/Journal

Selected Awards

  • Award / Honor Recipient: College of Health Professions Faculty Excellence Award - Service, Texas State University College of Health Professions. August 21, 2020
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Faculty Award for Distinction in Service, St. David's School of Nursing Graduating Class of 2023. May 12, 2023
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Presidential Distinction Award for Scholarly and Creative Activities, Texas State University. February 23, 2023
  • Award / Honor Recipient: 2022 College Achievement Award for Excellence in Scholarly/Creative Activity, College of Health Professions. September 2022
  • Award / Honor Nominee: Nurse Educator of the Year, National League of Nurses. August 25, 2022

Selected Grants

  • Gobert, Denise Valencia Newbur (Principal), Williams, Shannon Hope (Co-Principal), Hughes, Monica Jamison (Co-Principal), Jackson, Keri (Supporting). IHHC as Predictor of Hospital Readmission Risk for Patients with Diabetes: Analysis using Machine-Leaning Model, Center for Analytics and Data Sciences, Texas State University, Texas State University, $1000. (Submitted: December 21, 2023, Funded: January 2024 - June 2025). Grant.
  • Hughes, Monica Jamison (Principal), Garcia, Theresa J (Co-Principal), Tufano, Virginia Emma (Co-Principal). Enhancing Nursing Faculty Retention Through Competency-Based Education and Training, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, State, $197283. (Submitted: July 7, 2023, Funded: July 31, 2023 - July 31, 2025). Grant.
  • Tufano, Virginia Emma (Principal), Hughes, Monica J. (Co-Principal), Patel, Stephanie L. (Co-Principal). Learn, Do, Teach: Developing Nursing Students’ Population Health Core Competencies Through Interprofessional Health Education, Sigma Theta Tau International Nursing Honor Society- Chi Psi Chapter, Sigma Theta Tau International Nursing Honor Society - Chi Psi Chapter, $200. (Submitted: November 2022, Funded: December 2022 - January 2023). Grant.
  • Hughes, Monica Jamison (Principal), Kinder, Ariel (Co-Principal), Belcik, Kimberly Dawn (Co-Principal). Competency-Based Education for Practice-Ready Nurses, American Association of Colleges of Nursing, Private / Foundation / Corporate, $100000. (Funded: December 31, 2022 - March 1, 2025). Grant.
  • Hughes, Monica Jamison (Principal), McClanahan, Christopher Terance (Co-Principal), Erbin-Roesemann, Marla A (Co-Principal), Moon, KeriAnne Mauch, Clary, Kelly Lynn. Simulation Learning of Public Health Nursing Core Competencies Through Narrative Gaming, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Federal, $500000. (Submitted: May 28, 2020, Funded: September 1, 2022 - August 31, 2024). Grant.

Selected Service Activities

Member
Service Learning Excellence Advisory Board
August 2019-Present
Director
St. David's School of Nursing Professional Development Unit
May 2019-Present
Member
Texas Center for Nursing Workforce Studies' Texas Governmental Public Health Nursing Staffing Study Taskforce
October 2014-Present
Member
Texas Public Health Association Governing Council
March 2016-2020
Coordinator / Organizer
Faith Partnerships for Health
January 2018-November 2018