NURSING SCIENCE
Introducing the Nursing Science Team at Houston Methodist
7 MIN READ
The Center for Nursing Research, Education and Practice has grown its Nursing Science team this year. Nurse Scientists are doctorly prepared nurses that foster nursing inquiry at Houston Methodist. Nursing inquiry includes evidence-based practice (EBP), research, and quality or process improvement. Nurse Scientists help to mentor nurses, provide education about nursing inquiry, and design and implement research or evidence-based practice change initiatives. They have also added a research coordinator to the Nursing Science team, who provides support for nursing inquiry activities.
The mission of the Nursing Science team is to advance the nursing profession through engagement in nursing inquiry activities. The team of Nurse Scientists is here to partner with you. A few ways you can utilize the Nurse Scientists include:
- Designing EBP and Quality Improvement (QI) initiatives
- Research study design
- Guidance through the project approval process
- Writing PICOT questions
- Finding and evaluating the latest literature
- Analyzing Data
- Writing abstracts
- Creating poster presentations
- Manuscript writing
- Best practice advice
- And so much more
If you would like to contact the Nursing Science team, you can email them at NursingScience@houstonmethodist.org. They are available to meet in-person or virtually and can visit shared governance meetings, council meetings, or unit staff meetings.
The Houston Methodist Nursing Science Fellowship is a new program that guides nurses through nursing inquiry initiatives. Learn more about the Houston Methodist Nursing Science Fellowship and the nurses selected for this program below.
Alexis Elizabeth Hayes
Ph.D., MSN-Ed, APRN, FNP-BC
Dr. Alexis Elizabeth Hayes is a native of Louisiana and has been a resident of Texas for the past 10 years. She has been a registered nurse for over 14 years, a family nurse practitioner for 10 years, and a nurse educator for five years. She has earned both her Bachelor's and Master's of Nursing from Southern University A&M College in Baton Rouge, La. Dr. Hayes has also earned a post-masters in nursing education and a Ph.D. in Nursing from the Jane and Robert Cizik School of Nursing at UT Health in Houston, Texas.
Currently, Dr. Hayes serves as Adjunct Faculty at the Jane and Robert Cizik School of Nursing at the UT Health Nurse Practitioner Program. She has a passion for clinical practice advancement, research, and nursing education. Dr. Hayes has a continued interest in BRCA mutations, breast cancer prophylaxis, and racial disparities in breast cancer. She enjoys mentoring nursing students and advanced practice nurses through their journey in nursing practice.
Carliss Ramos
DNP, RN, EBP-C
Dr. Ramos has been a nurse for 25 years, earning her certificate in nursing, followed by her associate degree in nursing from San Jacinto Community College. She earned her bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Texas – Arlington and her doctorate from the University of Texas San Antonio.
Dr. Ramos' nursing practice was focused on cardiac and transplant critical care and clinical research specializing in cardiac devices, including stents and heart assist devices, and CV anesthesia. The regulatory and cardiac research experience led her to Houston Methodist in 2016 as a transplant quality coordinator.
Dr. Ramos has worked with nursing students since 2014 as a clinical instructor and became faculty in 2022 in her alma mater's bachelor's nursing program. She enjoys designing and implementing processes to improve practice, evaluate outcomes and review practice patterns against national benchmarks. Dr. Ramos is enthusiastic about storytelling with data but is most passionate about mentoring others. Her nursing science interests include practice gaps and patient safety outcomes, the nursing practice environment, quality of care, as well as bridging gaps between nursing theory and practice. Carliss loves talking and coffee equally but finds ultimate fulfillment in her patio plants (that do not talk back).
Joanne Muyco
DNP, RN, NE-BC, CNOR
Dr. Muyco has been a nurse for 10 years and has an extensive background in perioperative nursing. She has a BS in Psychology from the University of Houston and she graduated with her BSN, MSN, and DNP all from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Cizik School of Nursing. She is CNOR and NE-BC certified. Dr. Muyco has previous experience as a Clinical Educator and CVOR Manager. She is also an active member of the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) both nationally and locally. Dr. Muyco is passionate about evidence-based practice, clinical inquiry, and nursing research, particularly in the field of perioperative nursing. Her nursing science interests include cardiovascular, endovascular/vascular, thoracic, and transplant surgery nursing practices and outcomes, perioperative death, and care after death, change in patient condition and adverse events, nurse resilience and well-being, new models and methodologies of nursing education and continuing professional development, and nursing leadership theory and practice
One interesting fact about Joanne: "I worked in the same OR rooms as my mother and at one point, we were considered 'co-workers' (even though she was only PRN)."
Kevin Asirifi
MPH
Kevin Asirifi, MPH is the research coordinator for the Nursing Science team, supporting various research projects and initiatives. He received his Master of Public Health degree from the UTHealth School of Public Health in Houston. Kevin has experience working on local and global public health initiatives. He is passionate about health promotion and behavioral sciences, strategically empowering others to live happier and healthier lifestyles.
Michelle C. Hehman
PhD, RN
Dr. Hehman is a Nurse Scientist whose scholarly work focuses on nursing and health care history, and her research interests extend to public health policy, the ethics of technology in the hospital, and professional nursing identity. Her clinical background is in neonatal intensive care, where she worked as a nurse for more than 8 years. Dr. Hehman received her PhD from the University of Virginia in 2016, and since then she has served as Associate Editor for Nursing History Review
History of Professional Nursing in the United States: Toward a Culture of Health and as an Associate at UVA's Eleanor Crowder Bjoring Center for Nursing Historical Inquiry. In 2018, Dr. Hehman co-authored , which was awarded "Book of the Year" for History and Health Policy by the American Journal of Nursing. She is currently writing The Nurses of Ellis Island, which will be published in the Fall of 2023. Dr. Hehman lives in Sugar Land with her husband and three children. She enjoys coaching youth volleyball, as it reminds her of her time at Stanford University, where she was a four-year scholarship athlete and team captain of the 2001 NCAA Division I National Champion Women's Volleyball team.
History of Professional Nursing in the United States: Toward a Culture of Health and as an Associate at UVA's Eleanor Crowder Bjoring Center for Nursing Historical Inquiry. In 2018, Dr. Hehman co-authored , which was awarded "Book of the Year" for History and Health Policy by the American Journal of Nursing. She is currently writing The Nurses of Ellis Island, which will be published in the Fall of 2023. Dr. Hehman lives in Sugar Land with her husband and three children. She enjoys coaching youth volleyball, as it reminds her of her time at Stanford University, where she was a four-year scholarship athlete and team captain of the 2001 NCAA Division I National Champion Women's Volleyball team.
Nicole Fontenot
DNP, APRN, ACNP-BC, CCNS, CCRN-K
Dr. Fontenot is the Manager of Nursing Science. She has been a nurse for 15 years and has an extensive background in critical care nursing. She is dual-certified as an acute care nurse practitioner and critical care clinical nurse specialist. Dr. Fontenot has always been passionate about nursing science and has been involved in research, EBP, and QI throughout her career. Once she completed her doctorate, she became the first Nurse Scientist at Houston Methodist. Now she is so excited to be leading a team of Nurse Scientists.
Dr. Fontenot's interests include researching nurses' role in preventing clinical deterioration, educating advanced practice nurses, researching healthy work environments, and preventing hospital-associated conditions. In addition to managing the Nursing Science team, she also oversees the Nurse Residency Program, the MAPP nurse internship program, and academic partnerships. Additionally, Dr. Fontenot has just begun a 3-year term on the Board of Directors of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses.
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