Brenda L. Cassidy

Dr. Cassidy has dedicated her nursing career to working with the pediatric population, consistently advocating for the improvement of pediatric health outcomes through local, regional, and national initiatives. She has received multiple awards recognizing her advocacy and clinical expertise, including the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners State Advocacy Award, the Pennsylvania Nightingale Award, Cameo’s of Caring Nurse Educator Award, and Pittsburgh Magazine’s Excellence in Nursing award.

Research Areas & Scholarly Emphasis

Dr. Cassidy received the Distinguished Clinical Scholar Award and developed a unique clinical experience in adolescent medicine by establishing an academic-service partnership for interdisciplinary education, where she implemented an innovative faculty preceptor model. Dr. Cassidy assisted adolescent medicine providers with curricular content for a fellowship for advanced practice providers in adolescent medicine. Her research interests include adolescent health education, improving HPV vaccine rates, and curricular development focused on best practices to improve health outcomes for youth. Her curriculum development includes a copyrighted Learning Module, and an accompanying Resource Toolbox designed to promote positive health outcomes for youth.

Dr. Cassidy serves on School of Nursing, University, and National committees focused on advancing healthcare practices and is an advocate for youth health initiatives. She is recognized locally, nationally, and regionally for promoting HPV vaccine rates, having conducted and published quality improvement projects, and been an invited speaker in this area. Dr. Cassidy is also known within and outside of the University of Pittsburgh for her mentorship on projects aimed at improving HPV vaccine rates and for her expertise in adolescent health. She is currently the PI of a collaborative educational research project integrating health topics related to adolescent care into the undergraduate and graduate curriculum at the University of Pittsburgh and Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center New Orleans schools of nursing.

Teaching

Dr. Cassidy has extensive experience in teaching and program development, having taught nursing students of all levels for over 30 years. She has been a full-time faculty member at the University of Pittsburgh since 2008. As an Associate Professor and former Director of the Pediatric and Neonatal Nurse Practitioner programs, Dr. Cassidy played a key role in NP program development. She utilized funding to build an online course for healthcare providers on respectful communication, aimed at improving nursing students' knowledge, attitudes, and clinical preparedness. This module has been copyrighted by the University of Pittsburgh Innovative Institute for use by other faculty and healthcare providers outside the University.

Dr. Cassidy continues to teach pediatric courses both onsite and online and is frequently invited as a guest speaker within and outside the School of Nursing. She is actively involved in clinical practice, precepting students at two sites, including primary care and the Division of Adolescent Medicine at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. Dr. Cassidy has been recognized for her excellence in teaching, receiving the Dean’s Distinguished Teaching Award and Chancellor’s Distinguished Award.

Service

Dr. Cassidy has been involved actively in the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (NAPNAP) through the local chapter, the national Health Policy Committee and served on the executive board as member-at-large. She has served as a Co-Chair and Chair for NAPNAP’s initiative on Human Trafficking, the Alliance for Children in Trafficking (ACT) and currently serves as an ACT Advocate. Dr. Cassidy has assisted in development of a national speaker's bureau and conducts workshops to train other healthcare workers as ACT Advocates to increase awareness of human trafficking in children and young adults. She has been invited to serve on an inaugural committee to make recommendations on the organization's infrastructure. She is nationally recognized as a specialist in adolescent health and has been an invited national speaker in this area.

Clinical Emphasis

Dr. Cassidy is a Pediatric nurse practitioner specializing in adolescent medicine, specifically adolescent sexual health care.