Hi! I am originally from Mississippi, having received my BSN from the University of Southern Mississippi located in Hattiesburg. I also completed an MS in Health Education (now viewed as a Master of Public Health) from the same university. I moved to Houston in 1982 and later completed both my MSN as a Clinical Nurse Specialist in Critical Care and my DNP from Cizik School of Nursing at UTHealth Houston. I joined the faculty in 2017 and teach in the DNP program. I am co-director of the DNP program and work closely with DNP candidates on their capstone projects.

Prior to joining the teaching faculty, I worked for a large tertiary health system in the Texas Medical Center, holding several roles ranging from staff nurse in critical care to a system level director. I implemented and expanded several programs while at this facility including a hospital-based advanced practice nurse program, a nurse-run pain management program, a nurse-run palliative care program, and an integrative medicine program. I live in Blanco, TX (in the Hill Country) with my two Belgian Malinois dogs—Keeper and Margo. I enjoy cooking, reading, gardening, and wine tasting.

Highlighted publications:

Cole L. Psychosocial issues and lifestyle changes for the renal patient. Nursing Clinics of North America. 2018;53(4):589-600. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cnur.2018.07.008

Cole L. Non-Allopathic interventions for the management of acute and chronic pain: A brief review. OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing. 2020;25(2). https://doi.org/10.3912/OJIN.Vol25No02PPT15

Cole L, Boss L, Fowler D, Cheatham L. Using leadership simulation scenarios with graduate nursing learners to support front-line nurse leader competency development.  Nurse Leader. 2021;19(4):405-410. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mnl.2020.08.012. 

Cole L. Changes in pain and anxiety in hospitalized adults associated with using guided imagery.  Pain Management Nursing. 2021;22(4):465-469. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmn.2021.02.007

Boss L, Cole L, Fowler D, Cheatham L, Giegerich C. Front line nurse leader simulation for advanced leadership skills: A pilot study. International Journal of Nursing and Health Care Science. 2022;02(02):2021-92.

Cole L & Boss L. Development of interviewing skills in emerging nurse leaders using simulation-based learning. Nurse Leader. 2023;21(1):23-26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mnl.2022.07.006

Gooden A & Cole L. Shared governance to engage advanced practice registered nurses in a hospital setting: A quality improvement initiative. Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. 2023;23(2):163-169. https://doi.org/10.1097/JXX.0000000000000802     

Reid P & Cole L. (In press). APRN shared governance in a community hospital: A quality improvement initiative. Nursing Management.