Professor Lani Blanco joined the Stony Brook University School of Nursing in 2014 as a Clinical Instructor where she has been teaching courses in both the undergraduate and graduate programs. Prior to becoming a full-time faculty member, Professor Blanco worked as a nurse for over 14 years in various critical care areas, including the Burn Intensive Care Unit at New York Presbyterian Hospital and the Post Anesthesia Care Unit at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City.
Previously, Professor Blanco held academic appointments at the College of New Rochelle School of Nursing and Adelphi University College of Nursing and Public Health. At present, she is in the process of completing her Doctor of Philosophy degree in Nursing at Adelphi University. Her dissertational research involves assessing the level of cultural competence and implicit racial bias of registered nurses and examining which sociodemographic factors influence cultural competence and implicit racial bias in registered nurses.
Professor Blanco’s program of research and scholarship is focused on diversity, inclusion, and equity, which was mainly influenced by her experiences growing up in New York as a second-generation Filipino American. Her parents immigrated from the Philippines in the 1970s for a better life and better opportunities. Her mother was a nurse and she followed in her footsteps to become a nurse. According to Professor Blanco, “As nurses, we encounter so many different people from all walks of life, not only in terms of race or ethnicity, but also in their life experiences. As a professor, I have noticed that diversity, inclusion, and equity are not integrated enough in the nursing curricula and therefore our students are not prepared enough to work in a multicultural environment that is becoming more and more diverse.” Professor Blanco is inspired to learn more, and teach more, about how each of us - individually and as a profession - can achieve a just and equitable society for all.
She also serves as the Faculty Advisor for the Pre-Nursing Society and the Chinese Association at Stony Brook Dance Team. In May 2022, Professor Blanco was presented with the Advisor of the Year Award at the Jerrold L. Stein Student Life Awards at Stony Brook University. She also provides guest lectures for the AACN’s (American Association of Colleges of Nursing) Vizient Nurse Residency Program at Stony Brook University Hospital for Preceptor Development Day.
Professor Blanco lives in Queens with her daughter and her rescue dog and cat, Lucky and Whiskers.
Credentials
Lani Blanco, MA, RN
Education
BS, Major in Nursing, Minor in Child and Family Studies, Stony Brook University, 2002
MA, Nursing Education, Teachers College, Columbia University, 2010
PhD Candidate, Adelphi University (in progress)
Clinical Specialties
Critical Care Nursing
Orthopedic Nursing
Burn Intensive Care Unit
Post Anesthesia Care Unit
Primary Teaching Areas
Undergraduate:
Principles and Applications of Nursing Interventions I and II
Introduction to Nursing for Pre-Nursing Students
Healing and the Arts
Clinical Immersion in Operative Nursing
Graduate:
Curriculum Design, Implementation and Evaluation in Nursing Education
Advanced Teaching Strategies
Research and Academic Interests
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Innovative Teaching Strategies in Nursing
Emerging Technologies and Social Media in Nursing Education
Health Humanities in Nursing Education
Nurse and Workplace Engagement
Animal Assisted Therapy
Research (selected)
Principal Investigator: Sociodemographic Factors, Cultural Competence, and Implicit Racial Bias Among Registered Nurses (Dissertation in progress)
Presentations (selected)
Overcoming the Challenges of Student Engagement (Co-Presented with Dr. Rewa Thompson): Undergraduate Department Program Outcomes Workshop, Stony Brook University School of Nursing, Stony Brook, NY; May 2016
Handoff with Care: Promoting Patient-Centered Care and Patient Safety by Conducting Bedside Handoff in the Orthopaedic PACU: NAON 34th Annual Congress, Las Vegas, NV; May 2014
Let’s Get Engaged! Development of an Employee Engagement Committee to Foster an Engaged Workforce in the Orthopaedic PACU Setting: NAON 33rd Annual Congress, San Antonio, TX; May 2013; Earned Third Place Honorarium
Remembering Florence Nightingale: A Legacy for the Future of Nursing: 49th Annual Isabel Maitland Stewart Nursing Research Conference, Teachers College, New York, NY; May 2010
Major Accomplishments / Honors
Advisor of the Year, Jerrold L. Stein Student Life Awards, Stony Brook University, 2022
Thank a Teacher Award, Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, Stony Brook University, 2022
Georgette Viellion Orthopaedic Nursing Endowed Scholarship, Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, NY, 2013
Sigma Theta Tau International, Alpha Zeta Chapter, Columbia University, 2010
Teachers College Minority Scholarship Award, Teachers College, New York, NY, 2010
