Maighdlin W. Anderson | School of Nursing

DNP, ACNP-BC, FCCM

Assistant Professor

Acute & Tertiary Care

Profile

Dr. Anderson is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Acute and Tertiary Care and coordinator of the Adult Gerontological Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AG-ACNP) program. She works clinically as a Nurse Practitioner in the Department of Critical Care Medicine at UPMC and as a Flight RN with STAT Medevac. Within the larger community she volunteers with the Allegheny Mountain Rescue Group in Western PA and is on standby with the US Department of Health and Human Services as a Nurse Practitioner with PA-1, her regional Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT).

Dr. Anderson received her BSN (2008) from Francis Marion University and her MSN (Acute Care Nurse Practitioner specialty, 2012) and DNP (2017) from the University of Pittsburgh. She was certified as an Acute Care Nurse Practitioner through the American Nurses Credentialing Center in 2012. Additionally, she holds advanced certifications in critical care nursing, pre-hospital nursing, trauma and neurological life support, neonatal resuscitation, and wilderness medicine as well as lost person incident management and leadership.

She has been recognized by the Society of Critical Care Medicine as a fellow (FCCM) for her substantial contributions to the field of collaborative critical care.

Clinical Emphasis

Dr. Anderson has over 12 years of clinical experience in critical care medicine with specialized knowledge of neuro-trauma and multiple-trauma including traumatic brain and spine injuries. As a Senior APP at UPMC Presbyterian and Magee, she works within a multidisciplinary team to care for critical care patients in the medical, trauma, surgical, transplant, and neuro ICUs. She uses her critical care expertise in the pre-hospital area as a Flight Nurse with STAT Medevac.

Scholarly Emphasis

Dr. Anderson has published and presented in the field of critical care medicine with a focus on traumatic brain injury and is interested in interventions that can improve outcomes for patients with severe neurotrauma. She is also interested in the roles for acute care nurse practitioners in tertiary care centers as well as pre- and peri-hospital. Current research foci include bedside scoring of care intensity in the critically ill neurotrauma population and building resiliency for critical care medicine during a disaster by examining optimal staffing models for APPs.

Teaching

Dr. Anderson teaches in the Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Area of Concentration. She teaches in both the DNP and BNS Programs. Current courses she is responsible for include Management of Complex Health Problems of the Acutely and Critically Ill Adult I&II, Trauma and Emergency Medicine Clinical Emphasis for the Acute Care Nurse Practitioner, Fundamentals of Disaster and Mass Casualty Care, and Differential Diagnosis Clinical. She is also the lead instructor for a University of Pittsburgh study away program in Eugene, Oregon focused on disaster preparedness and wilderness first aid.

Service

She has been a member of the Society of Critical Care Medicine since 2012 and the American Association of Critical Care Nurses since 2009. She serves as a member of the Advanced Practice Nurse/Professional Development Subcommittee, the ICU Design Award Committee, and the Women in Critical Care KEG (Knowledge Education Group) within SCCM. As a member of the Wilderness Medical Society since 2018 she serves on the Search and Rescue (SAR) Committee and the Clinical Practice Guidelines Committee. She is an active member of NONPF (National Organization for Nurse Practitioner Faculty).

At the University of Pittsburgh, she serves on the Bylaws and Policy Committee and the DNP Topic Approval Committee in the School of Nursing. Additionally, she serves on the Special Operations Committee at STAT Medevac.