Dr. Melissa Knight, PHD, RN, MSN, CNE
Biography
Dr. Melissa Knight is the interim Associate Dean of Nursing at Claflin University. She oversees the RN-BSN program and the Master of Science in Nursing program (Leadership and Family Nurse Practitioner tracks).
Dr. Knight is a Certified Nurse Educator recognized by the National League of Nursing (NLN) with over 20 years of clinical experience as a Registered Nurse (RN) and over 13 years of didactic and clinical teaching experience across face-to-face and online Associate Degree of Nursing (ADN), RN-to BSN, and MSN academic programs. She has strong leadership skills in accreditation processes, innovative curriculum, nurse entrepreneurship, nurse faculty consulting and mentoring, and evidenced-based teaching strategies that demonstrate a commitment to student success, persistence, and retention.
Dr. Knight is dedicated to preparing professional nurses, nurse leaders, and nurse practitioners for today’s healthcare demands. She teaches various courses including Evidence-based practice and research, role transitions, nursing theory, and epidemiology. She has presented numerous lectures, seminars and workshops to nurses for professional development purposes. In addition to her academic responsibilities, she has served as an expert consultant for nursing academic programs, nurse educators, nurse leaders and nurse entrepreneurs.
Dr. Knight is passionate about fostering innovative cultures within both nursing practice and academia; resulting in quality education and furthermore safe, quality and cost-contained patient care. In addition to her academic experiences, she is the CEO and founder of a wellness business that provides CBT-stress management coaching, lifestyle coaching, and complementary-alternative modalities including mindfulness, meditation, and Yoga classes for stress reduction in midlife women. She draws on her knowledge of the healing arts, behavioral neuroscience, and human psychology.
Dr. Knight is also involved in chronic disease research extending to health behavior modification and disease prevention. Her research interests include chronic stress and trauma on cognitive health (Alzheimer’s) and cardiovascular health, AI predictive retention models/algorithms, and holistic-integrative approaches to cultivate “resilient leadership”, retention, self-care, and well-being in nursing students and nurse faculty.
Education
- Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing (Ph.D), Nursing Education and Nursing Leadership, Walden University
- Master of Science in Nursing (MSN), Nursing Education, Walden University
- Bachelor of Science in Business Administration(BS), Marketing and Management, University of South Carolina-Columbia
- Associate in Science-Nursing (ADN), Midland’s Technical College-Columbia
Activities and Honors
- National Nurses in Business Association
- National League of Nursing
- South Carolina Nurses Association
- American Nurses Association
- National Nurses Honors Society (Sigma Theta Tau)