Background

Dr. Carolyn Harmon has extensive knowledge and experience in nursing informatics, health care leadership, academic administration, teaching pedagogy, virtual simulation, online instructional design, and curriculum creation, development, evaluation, and effectiveness. She has been a nursing academic pioneer, educator, researcher, and administrator in roles such as dean, chair, director, nurse scientist, and informatics specialty lead at higher education institutions in Arizona, Minnesota, Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina. She achieved multiple new undergraduate and graduate degree approvals and accreditation from SACSCOC, CCNE and Boards of Nursing. 

Dr. Harmon earned her PhD from the University of South Carolina, DNP with an Executive Leadership focus from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, MSN with a Health Systems focus from Queens University of Charlotte, and BSN from Bluefield State University. Dr. Harmon’s clinical experience includes cardiac, open-heart recovery, and emergency practice. Her specialty practice is leadership and informatics. 

Dr. Harmon currently leads the nursing informatics, healthcare leadership, and nursing education graduate programs. She also serves as Core Faculty for the Center for Advancing Chronic Care Outcomes through Research and Innovation (ACORN) and was recently selected to be a Propel AI Scholar at the University of South Carolina.

Teaching

Dr. Harmon is an expert in nursing curriculum and teaching. She enjoys teaching and mentoring graduate informatics and leadership students. She has been an educator, committee chair, committee member, and mentor across the nursing curriculum (ADN, BSN, RN-BSN, MSN, DNP, and PhD programs). 

Research

Propel AI Scholar

Core Faculty in the ACORN Center. 

Concept Areas:

• Patient Safety, Health Systems, and Safe Practice Environments (i.e. Patient Outcome metrics, Clinician Wellbeing, Cognitive Load, Sleep)
• Healthcare Informatics, Innovations, and Clinical Transformation (i.e. AI, EHR, Digital Technology)

Professional Service (selected)

• American Nursing Informatics Association (ANIA), Past President, 2021-present
• Nursing Knowledge Big Data Science initiative, Policy and Advocacy Workgroup, 2024-present
• ANIA National Board, 2016-2021
• ANIA Leadership Succession Committee Chair, 2019-2021
• South Carolina ANIA, President, 2015
• ANIA Conference Planning Committee, 2011-2012; 2016-2019
• Sigma Theta Tau International Alpha Xi Chapter, Induction Committee, 2016-2017
• Sigma Theta Tau International Alpha Xi Chapter, Communications Committee Chair, 2015-2017
• Sigma Theta Tau International Mu Psi Chapter, Leadership Succession Committee Chair, 2011-2012

Research Studies

• Pilot Study (PI): Innovative Simulation Techniques to Develop Practice-Ready Nursing Specialty Graduates; framed with Constructivist Theory and Benner’s From Novice to Expert, 2024-present
• Quantitative Research Study (PI): Cognitive Load, Documentation Burden, and Unintended Consequences of Healthcare Technology in Nurses; framed with the researchers' modified version of SEIPS 2.0, 2019-present
• Quantitative Research Study (Coinvestigator): Nurse Well-Being, 2023
• Qualitative Research Study (Coinvestigator): Experiences of frontline nurses during the COVID-19 Pandemic, 2021
• Quantitative Research Study (PI): Nurses' Perception of the Electronic Health Record; framed with Rogers’ Diffusion of Innovation Theory, 2009-2015

Publications (selected)

Harmon, C. S., Davis, J. E., Adams, S. A., Donevant, S. B., &  Gephart, S. M. (2024). Theory selection for a patient safety interest in nursing practice. Journal of Informatics Nursing, 9(1), 21-23.

Harmon, C. S. (2023, November 30). Addressing the Tennessee nursing shortage crisis through the Appalachian Highlands Center for Nursing Advancement. Tennessee Nurse, 86(4), 16-17. https://www.healthecareers.com/nurse-resources/tennessee-nurse-november-2023/addressing-the-tennessee-nursing-shortage-crisis-through-the-appalachian-highlands-center-for-nursing-advancement 

Harmon, C. S., Adams, S. A., Davis, J. E., Donevant, S. B., &  Gephart, S. M. (2023). Unintended consequences of the electronic health record and cognitive load in emergency nurses. Applied Nursing Research, 73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apnr.2023.151724 

Harmon, C. S. (2023). The challenges of technology in healthcare. In T. Heba & M. Rose (Eds.), Handbook of informatics for nurses and healthcare professionals (7th ed.). Boston: Pearson.

Harmon, C. S., Davis, J. E., Adams, S. A., Donevant, S. B., &  Gephart, S. M. (2022). Adapted theory for unintended consequences of the electronic health record and cognitive load in emergency nurses. Journal of Informatics Nursing, 7(4), 6-11. Selected for continuing education contact hours.

Harmon, C. S., Corbett, C. F., Davis, J. E., Adams, S. A., & Donevant, S. B. (2022). Principle-based concept analysis: Unintended consequences of the electronic health record. Journal of Informatics Nursing, 7(1), 15-23.

Harmon, C. S., Adams, S. A., & Davis, J. E. (2020). Nursing cognitive-overload and electronic documentation burden: A literature review. Journal of Informatics Nursing, 5(3), 16-21,30.

Harmon, C. S. (2018). Inside a strategic plan for a dysfunctional senior leadership team. Nurse Leader, 16(2), 142-146.

Harmon, C. S. (2018). Continuity planning and management (disaster recovery). In T. Heba, K. Hunter & P. Czar (Eds.), Handbook of informatics for nurses and healthcare professionals (6th ed.). Boston: Pearson.

Harmon, C. S. & Parker, C. (2017). Selecting a graduate degree in informatics. Journal of Informatics Nursing, 2(4), 23-26.

Harmon, C. S., Fogle, M., & Roussel, L. (2015). Then and now: Nurses’ perception of the electronic health record. Online Journal of Nursing Informatics, 19(1).