Christine T Kovner

Christine Tassone Kovner, PhD, RN, FAAN is a Professor Emerita. She was the Mathy Mezey Professor of Geriatric Nursing at NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing and a professor of medicine at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine. Dr. Kovner is the Editor-in-Chief of Policy, Politics & Nursing Practice. She is a highly respected nurse educator and researcher with more than 150 published articles. Her research focuses on quality improvement, RN working conditions, and nursing care costs. For five years she was the principal investigator for the TL1 Pre- and Post-Doctoral Program of NYU's NIH funded Clinical and Translational Science Institute. Dr. Kovner was the principal investigator of a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grant studying the career trajectories of newly licensed registered nurses over the first ten years of their careers. As a clinical nurse, she was proud to provide COVID vaccinations at Langone Health.

Dr. Kovner was a visiting scholar at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Policy for two years and has served on many government policy committees, including New York’s State Hospital Review and Planning Council. She has served as a grant reviewer for the NIH, NIOSH, and the Department of Defense among others.

Among her many honors, Dr. Kovner was awarded the Diane O. McGivern Award in 2024. The award recognizes an NYU Meyers graduate for outstanding work in legislation and policy on behalf of professional nursing. Dr. Kovner received the Excellence in Policy Award from Nursing Outlook for “Diversity and education of the nursing workforce 2006-2016,” in 2019, the IRGNI Research Mentorship Award from Academy Health (2018), the Eastern Nursing Research Society Distinguished Contributions to Nursing Research Award (2018), the Golden Pen Award from the Journal for Healthcare Quality (2007), and the Lavinia Dock Distinguished Service Award from the New York Counties Registered Nurses Association.

PhD - New York University

MSN - University of Pennsylvania

BS - Columbia University School of Nursing

Post-doctoral Fellowship - Robert Wagner School of Public Service, NYU

Nursing workforce

Community/population health

American Academy of Nursing Fellow

AcademyHealth

Council for the Advancement of Nursing Science

Sigma Theta Tau

International Association of Clinical Research Nurses

Diane O. McGivern Award, NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing (2024)

Excellence in Policy Award, Nursing Outlook (2019)

IRGNI Research Mentorship Award, Academy Health (2018)

Distinguished Contributions to Nursing Research Award (2018)

Treasurer, CGFNS International, Inc. (2016)

Distinguished Alumna Award, New York University, College of Nursing (2012)

Nursing Outlook Excellence in Policy Award for “State Mandatory Overtime Regulations and Newly Licensed Nurses’ Mandatory and Voluntary Overtime and Total Work Hours.” (2012)

Vernice Ferguson Faculty Scholar Award, New York University, College of Nursing (2010)

Golden Pen Award for “Exploring the Utility of Automated Drug Alerts in Home Healthcare,” Journal for Healthcare Quality (2007)

Health Policy and Legislation Award, New York University, College of Nursing (2006)

Honorary Recognition Award, New York Counties Registered Nurses Association (1999)

Best of Image Award in Health Policy Scholarship, for “Nurse Staffing Levels and Adverse Events Following Surgery in U. S. Hospitals," Journal of Nursing (1999)

Alumni Award for Distinguished Career in Nursing, Columbia University-Presbyterian Hospital Alumni Association (1996)

Distinguished Nurse Researcher, Foundation of the New York State Nurses Association (1994)

Lavinia Dock Distinguished Service Award, New York Counties Registered Nurses Association (1992)

Martha E. Rogers Scholarship Award, Upsilon Chapter, Sigma Theta Tau (1983)

Making research-based practice changes depends on

Kovner, C. (1999). Applied Nursing Research, 12, 167.

They just don't get it.

Kovner, C. T., & Mezey, M. (1999). The American Journal of Nursing, 99(7), 9. 10.1097/00000446-199907000-00002

Counting nurses

Mezey, M., & Kovner, C. (1998). Nursing Counts, 1, 2.

Data Sources to Estimate Local Area Supply and Demand for Nurses

Kovner, C. T., & Reimers, C. (1998). Public Health Nursing, 15(2), 123-130. 10.1111/j.1525-1446.1998.tb00330.x

Abstract

Abstract

This paper examines existing data sources that can be used to estimate the local supply and demand for registered nurses (RNs). An analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of these data is provided.

Differentiated levels of nursing work force demand

Kovner, C. T., & Schore, J. (1998). Journal of Professional Nursing, 14(4), 242-253. 10.1016/S8755-7223(98)80065-3

Abstract

Abstract

In addition to reviewing the literature about the extent to which basic nursing education is related to actual nursing practice, this article investigates the extent to which the relationship between nursing practice, education, and experience varies across specific health care settings. The literature presented no consistent or systematic association between type and amount of previous nursing experience and current nursing practice. However, the literature generally provided evidence of a consistent and systematic association between baccalaureate preparation and level of registered nurse (RN) practice. The review of practice and organizational differences across the hospital, nursing home, and ambulatory care sectors suggests that baccalaureate-prepared RNs in hospitals may have a more strongly differentiated role relative to those in nursing homes and ambulatory settings. If baccalaureate-prepared nurses continue to be perceived as capable of more complex and independent practice, and if employers believe that they can increase revenues by increasing the quality of nursing care or can save money by shifting to RNs some responsibilities now held by more costly personnel (such as physicians), then demand for baccalaureate-prepared nurses may increase.

The health care financing administration

Kovner, C. (1998). In J. Fitzpatrick (Ed.), Encyclopedia of nursing research (1–, pp. 229-230). Springer.

Health maintenance organizations

Kovner, C. (1998). In J. Fitzpatrick (Ed.), Encyclopedia of nursing research (1–, p. 233). Springer.

Nurse Staffing Levels and Adverse Events Following Surgery in U.S. Hospitals

Kovner, C., & Gergen, P. J. (1998). Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 30(4), 315-321. 10.1111/j.1547-5069.1998.tb01326.x

Abstract

Abstract

Purpose: To examine the relationship between nurse staffing and selected adverse events hypothesized to be sensitive to nursing care, while controlling for related hospital characteristics. Efforts in the United States to reduce hospital costs, resulting in strategies to use fewer nurses, have stimulated extensive debate but little evaluation. Design: Survey using data from a 20% stratified probability sample to approximate U.S. community hospitals. The sample included 589 acute-care hospitals in 10 states. Methods: Discharge data from 1993 for patients aged 18 years and over were used to create hospital-level adverse event indicators. These hospital-level data were matched to American Hospital Association data on community hospital characteristics, including nurse staffing, to examine the relationship between nurse staffing and adverse events. Results: A large and significant inverse relationship was found between full-time-equivalent RNs per adjusted inpatient day (RNAPD) and urinary tract infections after major surgery (p<.0001) as well as pneumonia after major surgery (p<.001). A significant but less robust inverse relationship was found between RNAPD and thrombosis after major surgery (p<.01), as well as pulmonary compromise after major surgery (p<.05). Conclusions: Inverse relationships between nurse staffing and these adverse events provide information for managers to use when redesigning and restructuring the clinical workforce employed in providing inpatient care.

Nursing's first Senior Scholar at the U.S. Agency for Health Care Policy and Research. Interview by Peter I Buerhaus.

Kovner, C. (1998). Image--the Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 30(4), 311-314. 10.1111/j.1547-5069.1998.tb01325.x

Staffing issues

Mezey, M., & Kovner, C. (1998). Nursing Counts, 1, 2.

Faculty