Dr. Steven Palazzo is a Certified Nurse Educator (CNE) with over 25 years of nursing experience and currently serves as a teaching professor and academic leader at Florida State University College of Nursing. His work spans undergraduate and graduate nursing education, with primary expertise in curriculum design, course and program evaluation, accreditation alignment, and strategic enrollment management. He has led large-scale curricular revisions, implemented competency-based educational frameworks, and developed data-driven approaches to improve student outcomes, including NCLEX performance and program completion rates.
As a first-generation college graduate, Dr. Palazzo began his career in critical care, which continues to inform his emphasis on clinical reasoning and application in the classroom. His scholarly work includes proteomic profiling of the lung environment, biobehavioral research examining adolescent cardiovascular risk reduction (teentakeheart.org), and studies focused on workplace incivility and its impact on nursing education and practice. He has also explored high school students’ perceptions of nursing as a career, contributing to pipeline development and workforce sustainability initiatives.
In his current leadership role, Dr. Palazzo focuses on aligning academic programs with accreditation standards, including those of the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, and national expectations outlined in the AACN Essentials. He has directed efforts to optimize faculty workload models, integrate learning technologies, and strengthen assessment infrastructures through centralized data collection and analytics. His work emphasizes balancing academic rigor with accessible and responsive admissions practices to meet workforce demands while maintaining program quality.
Dr. Palazzo is a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Nurse Faculty Scholar (2013), a Nurse Faculty Leadership Scholar through Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing, and a graduate of the Emerging Educational Administrator Institute. He has served a four-year term on the STTI Governance Committee and continues to contribute to national conversations on nursing education and leadership. He serves on the editorial board of Nursing Education Perspectives and hosts the NursingEdge Scholarship Series podcast for the National League for Nursing, where he engages nurse educators in discussions on scholarship, innovation, and best practices in teaching and learning.
EDUCATION
PhD. Nursing, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
Predoctoral Fellow, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
Masters Nursing, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
B.S. Nursing, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
CERTIFICATIONS
RN- Florida, Nevada, & Washington State
Certified Nurse Educator
HONORS/AWARDS
Emerging Educational Administrator Institute (scholar) 2016 - 2017
Sigma Theta Tau International
National League for Nursing (NLN) Academy of Nursing Education Fellow (ANEF) \
The Change the Course Award October 2016
Hope Heart
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation 2015
Strategic Communications Training Program
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation 2013 - 2016
Nurse Faculty Scholar, September
Nurse Faculty Leadership Academy Fellow December 2012 - 2013
Sigma Theta Tau International
Dr. Lester Sauvage Fellow September 2011
The Hope Heart Institute
PUBLICATIONS
Palazzo, S.J. & Levey, J. (2024). Shaping the future of nursing education: Next generation NCLEX (NGN) question writing and the power of psychometrics. Nursing Education Perspectives. 45(2).
Palazzo, S.J., Green, C. and Davis, S. (2023). Achieving equity and justice in nursing programs: An examination of academic progression policies and changing status quo. Nursing Education Perspectives. 44(5).
Palazzo, S.J. and Erickson, M.S. (2022). Male high school students’ perception of nursing as a professional career choice: Nursing pathway project. Nursing Education Perspectives. 43(1).
Scheller, L.L., Campbell, B.M., & Palazzo, S.J. (2021) Description of an innovative student-led program. Nursing Education Perspectives. 42(4).
Smith, C.R., Palazzo, S.J., Grubb, P.L., & Gillespie, G.L. (2020). Standing up against workplace bullying: Recommendations from newly licensed nurses. Journal of Nursing Education and Practice.
Ly, J., Sin, M., & Palazzo, S.J. (2019). Daily chlorhexidine bathing on central line-associated bloodstream infections: Its implications on clinical setting. JOJ Nurse Health Care, 11(1): 555801.
Palazzo, S.J., Sanman, E., & Bicknell, L.E. (2019). Empowering high school students through engagement in a community event. International Education Studies.
Palazzo, S.J. (2017). Teen Take Heart: A pilot intervention to improve high school students’ behavioral intentions to engage in physical activity and better nutrition. Journal of Adolescent Health, 60(2), S65.
Brody A.A., Farley, J.E., Gillespie, G.L, Hickman, R., Hodges, E.A., Lyder, C., Palazzo, S.J., Schiavenato, M., & Pesut, D.J. (2017). Diversity dynamics: Issues and strategies to create positive organizations: The experience of male Robert Wood Johnson Foundation nurse faculty scholars. Nursing Outlook.
Salvatierra, G., Palazzo, S.J., & Emory, A. (2016). High school CPR/AED training in Washington State. Public Health Nursing.
Palazzo, S.J., & Strong, A.B. (2016). Hosting a professional development day on campus: Engaging nursing student leaders and campus partners. The Journal of Nursing Education and Practice, (6)11, 84-88.
Palazzo, S.J., Miller, C., & Salvatierra, G. (2016). Continuous Student Feedback – “Your Voice Counts”. Nursing Education Perspectives, 37(5), 297-98.
Palazzo, S.J., Skager, & C., Kraiger, A. (2014). Describing an Academic and Nonprofit Organization Partnership to Educate At-Risk Adolescents about Cardiovascular Health. Education, 135(1), 51-58. ISSN: ISSN-0013-1172 ERIC Number: EJ1045338
Hirsch, A., Palazzo, S., Salvatierra, G., Clark, T., Leeder, L., Stauffer, D., & Benner, P. (2013). Creating a transformative curriculum based on Ignatian pedagogy. The Impact of Catholic Education in America: Past, Present and Future. Conference Proceedings, Portland, OR, June 2013.
Nguyen, E.V., Gharib, S.A., Palazzo, S.J., Chow Y., Goodlett, D.R., & Schnapp, L.M. (2013). Proteomic Profiling of Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid in Critically Ill Patients with Ventilator- Associated Pneumonia, PLOS ONE, 8(3).
Palazzo, S.J., Simpson, T, Simmons, J., & Schnapp, L.M. (2012). sTREM-1 as a Diagnostic Predictor of Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia. Respir Care, December, (57)12, 2052-2058.
Palazzo, S.J., Simpson, T., & Schnapp, L.M. (2012). TREM-1 as a Potential Therapeutic Target in Sepsis. Dimensions of Critical Care Nursing, (31), 1,1-6.
Palazzo, S.J., Simpson, T, & Schnapp, L. (2011). Biomarkers for ventilator-associated pneumonia: Review of the literature. Heart & Lung: The Journal of Acute and Critical Care, (40)4, 293-8.
Palazzo, S.J. (2008). Philosophical approaches to understanding pain. [Letter to the Editor]. Nursing Philosophy, (9)3, 220.