Faculty & Staff Directory

Lani Blanco, PhD, MA, RN, joined the Stony Brook University School of Nursing in 2014 as a clinical instructor, teaching courses in both the undergraduate and graduate programs. Before 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. She completed her Doctor of Philosophy degree in Nursing at Adelphi University, and her dissertational research involved 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.

Her 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.

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 American Association of Colleges of Nursing's (AACN) 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.

Education

• BS, Major in Nursing, Minor in Child and Family Studies, Stony Brook University, 2002
• MA, Nursing Education, Teachers College, Columbia University, 2010
• PhD, Adelphi University

Clinical Specialties

Critical care nursing, orthopedic nursing, burn intensive care unit, and 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, and Clinical Immersion in Operative Nursing

Graduate: Curriculum Design, Implementation and Evaluation in Nursing Education, and 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

Selected Research

Principal Investigator: Sociodemographic Factors, Cultural Competence, and Implicit Racial Bias Among Registered Nurses (Dissertation in progress)

Selected Presentations

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