PublicationsHeather Young, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N.
Associate Vice Chancellor for Nursing at UC Davis
Dean, Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis
Q&A with Heather
What do you do?
As associate vice chancellor for nursing and dean of the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing, I am responsible for the creation and implementation of a transformative nursing science program at the newly established school of nursing.
I lead a transition team of executive and support staff who collectively are working toward the ultimate goal of the successful launch of this innovative school. We envision this school serving as a national model for nursing education and leadership in the 21st century. I am responsible for the overall vision of the school as well as strategic planning and program implementation; the recruitment and retention of highly-qualified faculty and support staff; development and support of robust research programs; and overall oversight of the school’s business activities and compliance with university, educational and accreditation standards and policies.
What do you enjoy about your work?
Creating a new school of nursing, from scratch, that is completely different than any other nursing school is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. When I learned about the plans for this school, I knew I had to be part of this unique initiative. I enjoy working with a diverse team of different yet creative and innovative individuals who come together to develop programs and systems that are meaningful and result in better health care for all people in our community. I like to focus on opportunities to better what we do as health-care providers. I enjoy being challenged by a complex problem and bringing together a variety of skilled professionals who work collaboratively to put the pieces of the puzzle together.
A nurse leader, educator and scientist and a nationally-recognized expert in gerontological nursing and rural health care, Heather M. Young was appointed associate vice chancellor for Nursing at UC Davis Health System in 2008. She also serves as the founding dean of the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis.
Before joining UC Davis in 2008, Young was the Grace Phelps Distinguished Professor, director of Rural Health Research Development, and director of the John A. Hartford Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence at the Oregon Health and Science University School of Nursing. She is a fellow in the prestigious American Academy of Nursing.
Young is a UC Davis alumna, graduating in 1981 with a bachelor's degree in dietetics. She later earned an associate degree in nursing from Sacramento City College and a bachelor's of science in nursing degree from Southern Oregon State College. She then went on to the University of Washington, where she earned a master of nursing degree with a specialty in gerontology and a doctorate in nursing science.
Young's extensive research has focused on environments that promote healthy aging, with a particular focus on the interface between family and formal health-care systems for older adults. She has played an instrumental role in shaping long-term care policies in Washington state and beyond through her evaluation research. In addition, she has been a co-investigator on several longitudinal studies of family caregiving, one of which explored long-term care decision-making and caregiving among Japanese-American families. Her current research focuses on the medication management and safety in rural, assisted-living settings, technological approaches to promoting medication safety in rural hospitals and community-based strategies to promote health for rural older adults. She has published more than two dozen studies and secured millions of dollars in grant support.
Teaching has been an integral component of Young's career at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, contributing to clinical, theory, research, and gerontological courses. She also has regularly participated in community education, bringing the academic perspective to the general public and health-care providers in the field. At the Oregon Health and Science University, Young was a member of the regional doctoral faculty and has taught using distance technology, and advised students in distant locations in Washington, Alaska, Montana, and Utah.
Postgraduate student mentorship has also been a major part of Young's teaching activity. She mentored five doctoral students for pre-doctoral training and one post-doctoral fellow in the John A. Hartford Foundation's Geriatric Nursing Initiative to build academic geriatric nursing capacity. She has served as mentor/advisor for 18 doctorate students, six post-doctoral fellows and 20 masters' students. Young developed and taught a doctoral course on policy in gerontology, with the core goal of exploring how research can inform and shape public policy.
At Oregon Health and Science University, Young was a leader in the graduate programs, having served in the past five years as a member of the Advanced Practice Nursing Leadership group, the Graduate Council, the doctoral faculty, and the Doctoral Admissions and Progressions Committee. These groups oversee their respective programs and develop policy for graduate programs. She directed the Gerontological Nurse Practitioner program and led the redesign of the program into a post-master's certificate in Advanced Practice Gerontological Nursing.
In addition to her extensive academic and research background, Young also has experience as a hospital nurse practicing in critical care and as a nurse practitioner in community-based long-term care. For more than a decade, Young held a joint appointment on faculty at the University of Washington School of Nursing and as the Chief Operations Officer for a retirement community company and was responsible for an academic-corporate partnership managing and designing programs in independent living, assisted living, and skilled nursing.