Karen E. Coyne

DNP, RN, CSN
Assistant Professor
Health Promotion & Development

Profile

Dr. Karen Coyne has been an educator for over 10 years in various pre-licensure educational programs, including practical nurse, diploma, associate, bachelor, accelerated bachelor and masters. In 2020, she was awarded The Cameo of Caring Award and Daisy Award for Extraordinary Teachers. In 2018, she began the “Boost Girls in Care” foundation, which provides new bras for girls in foster care, independent living, and new mothers through the Allegheny County Health Department.

Dr. Coyne received her diploma of nursing from Mercy Hospital School of Nursing as well as her BSN from California University of Pa.  She received her MSN with a nursing education concentration from Waynesburg University.  Most recently, she received her Doctor of Nursing Practice from Carlow University, where her scholarly project “Nurses caring for pregnant women with substance use disorder: Exploring emotional intelligence and attitudes” has been presented at several conferences as a poster and podium presentation.

Dr. Coyne has taught across the lifespan in nursing with her focus on maternity, pediatrics, and community.

Clinical Emphasis

Dr. Coyne's clinical focus is in Maternity, Pediatrics, Community, and School Nursing.

Scholarly Emphasis

Dr. Coyne's scholarly areas are the emotional intelligence of nursing students and nurses and school nurse competency. Currently, she is focusing on the content validity of PAUSE, an acronym she developed to improve the attitudes of healthcare workers when caring for patients who may have beliefs, values, and biases that could affect care. Additionally, she I completed a pilot study on the emotional intelligence and attitudes of nursing students intending to implement PAUSE later.

School nurses throughout the country function autonomously in a world of educators. The school nurse is evaluated by educators and not healthcare providers in many instances. Dr. Coyne is working on a literature review of state requirements for school nurses, evaluation methods of school nurses per state, and what kind of competencies would be beneficial to school nurses.

Teaching

Dr. Coyne is the coordinator and faculty for Pre-K to 12 School Nurse Specialist Certificate and Master’s in School Nursing Programs, and serves on the Pediatric clinical faculty.