Sean Clarke

Faculty

Sean Clarke Headshot

Sean Clarke

PhD RN FAAN

Ursula Springer Professor in Nursing Leadership

1 212 998 5264

433 First Ave
New York, NY 10010
United States

Sean Clarke, PhD, RN, FAAN is the Ursula Springer Professor in Nursing Leadership at the NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing. He is a nursing health services researcher with interests in quality and safety of nursing care, nurse workforce issues, management of nursing services, as well as questions related to health systems changes and their impacts on the nursing profession. He has taught nursing leadership and professional issues, health policy, research, and clinical science courses in universities in the United States, Canada, and beyond. He currently the Editor-in-Chief of Nursing Outlook, the official journal of the American Academy of Nursing and serves on a number of editorial boards and grant review panels.

Clarke is currently co-principal investigator of Towards Magnet 3.0, a multimethod evaluation study of the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Magnet Recognition Program, and principal investigator of the evaluation of the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation’s $51 million 5- year Nursing Initiative that is supporting workforce strategies in 13 hospitals caring for vulnerable populations in New York State.

Prior to joining the faculty at NYU Meyers, Clarke was a tenured faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Toronto, and McGill University and held endowed chairs and codirected and directed research centers and other initiatives at those institutions before serving as Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs at Boston College’s Connell School of Nursing from 2014 to 2018. He served as Executive Vice Dean at NYU Meyers from 2019 to 2024.

Among his many honors, Clarke was named a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing in 2006. He has held visiting and honorary appointments at universities around the world, and in 2025 received the Academy’s Civitas Award, which recognizes extraordinary dedication to excellence in promoting quality care.

Post-MS certificate, Adult Critical Care Nurse Practitioner, University of Pennsylvania
PhD, Nursing, McGill University
MSc(A), Nursing, McGill University
BA, Psychology, Carleton University
BSc, Biochemistry-Nutrition, University of Ottawa

Acute Care
Adult Health
Health Services Research
Health Outcomes
Health Policy
Nursing Leadership
Nursing Professional Issues
Nurse Occupational Health
Nursing workforce

American Nurses Association
American Academy of Nursing
Sigma Theta Tau International

Civitas Award, American Academy of Nursing (2025)
Creative Teaching Award, Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto (2011)
Dean’s Award for Undergraduate Teaching, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing (2007)
Junior Faculty Research Award, Biobehavioral and Health Sciences Division School of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania (2006)
Fellow, American Academy of Nursing (2006)
Class of 1965 25th Reunion Term Chair, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing [for enduring contributions to undergraduate education] (2006)
American Academy of Nursing Media Award for coverage of Aiken, Clarke et al., JAMA, October 23/30, 2002 (2003)
Article of the Year, Academy Health [Academy for Health Services Research and Health Policy] for Aiken, Clarke et al., JAMA, October 23/30, 2002 (2003)
American Academy of Nursing Media Award for coverage of Aiken, Clarke, et al. Health Affairs, 2001 (2002)
Induction into Sigma Theta Tau, Xi Chapter (1999)

An International Perspective on Hospital Nurses’ Work Environments: The Case for Reform

Aiken, L. H., Clarke, S. P., Sloane, D. M., & Sochalski, J. A. (2001). Policy, Politics, & Nursing Practice, 2(4), 255-263. 10.1177/152715440100200402
Abstract
Abstract
The current nursing shortage, high hospital-nurse job dissatisfaction, and reports of uneven quality of hospital care are not uniquely American phenomena. This article presents reports from 43,000 nurses at more than 700 hospitals in the United States, Canada, England, Scotland, and Germany during 1998 and 1999. Nurses in countries with distinctly different health care systems report similar shortcomings in their work environments and the quality of hospital care. Although nurse and physician competence and nurse-physician relationships appear satisfactory, core problems in work design and workforce management threaten care provision. Resolving these issues, which are amenable to managerial intervention, is essential to preserve patient safety and provide care of consistently high quality.

Nurses' reports on hospital care in five countries

Aiken, L. H., Clarke, S. P., Sloane, D. M., Sochalski, J. A., Busse, R., Clarke, H., Giovannetti, P., Hunt, J., Rafferty, A. M., & Shamian, J. (2001). Health Affairs, 20(3), 43-53. 10.1377/hlthaff.20.3.43
Abstract
Abstract
The current nursing shortage, high hospital nurse job dissatisfaction, and reports of uneven quality of hospital care are not uniquely American phenomena. This paper presents reports from 43,000 nurses from more than 700 hospitals in the United States, Canada, England, Scotland, and Germany in 1998-1999. Nurses in countries with distinctly different health care systems report similar shortcomings in their work environments and the quality of hospital care. While the competence of and relation between nurses and physicians appear satisfactory, core problems in work design and workforce management threaten the provision of care. Resolving these issues, which are amenable to managerial intervention, is essential to preserving patient safety and care of consistently high quality.

Nutritional and medical therapy for dyslipidemia in patients with cardiovascular disease.

Logan, P., & Clarke, S. (2001). AACN Clinical Issues, 12(1), 40-52. 10.1097/00044067-200102000-00006
Abstract
Abstract
Dyslipidemia is a significant risk factor for the progression of cardiovascular disease, particularly when associated with other risk factors. An understanding of the pathophysiology and risks for patients with atherosclerotic diseases of undertreated dyslipidemia is essential for the healthcare provider. In this article, a review of epidemiologic data regarding the role of lipid levels in cardiovascular disease prognosis is presented. A familiarity with current dietary and drug treatment of lipid disorders is at the core of an evidence-based approach to dyslipidemia management in the patient with established cardiovascular diseases.

Hospital Restructuring:Does It Adversely Affect Care and Outcomes?

Aiken, L. H., Clarke, S. P., & Sloane, D. M. (2000). Journal of Nursing Administration, 30(10), 457-465. 10.1097/00005110-200010000-00003
Abstract
Abstract
The past decade has witnessed pronounced changes in the organization of United States hospitals, many the direct result of restructuring and re-engineering initiatives intended to decrease costs and increase productivity. Little is known about how these initiatives have affected clinical care and patient outcomes. Using data from a variety of sources, the authors describe initiatives that hospitals undertook during this period, discuss how nurse staffing changed relative to the case mix of patients receiving care, and examine changes in nursing practice environments from 1986 to 1998.

Psychosocial factors as predictors of functional status at 1 year in patients with left ventricular dysfunction

Clarke, S. P., Frasure-Smith, N., Lespérance, F., & Bourassa, M. G. (2000). Research in Nursing and Health, 23(4), 290-300. 10.1002/1098-240X(200008)23:4<290::AID-NUR5>3.0.CO;2-0
Abstract
Abstract
Chronic heart failure patients often experience significant functional impairments. A better understanding of the biopsychosocial correlates of functional status may lead to interventions that improve quality of life in this population. Social isolation, mood disturbance, low socioeconomic status, and non-White ethnicity were evaluated as possible correlates of impaired functional status in 2,992 U.S. patients with left ventricular ejection fractions (LVEFs) ≤ 35%. Even after controlling for age and clinical characteristics, all of the psychosocial variables examined were significant predictors of risk for experiencing severe limitations in intermediate and social activities of daily living at 1 year, with adjusted odds ratios in the 1.5-2.0 range. The ability of psychosocial characteristics to predict future functional status was also independent of baseline functional status, comorbid medical conditions, and deterioration in heart failure signs and symptoms over the intervening year. These results suggest that psychosocial factors influence patient functional status even in the later phases of cardiac disease.

Sean Patrick Clarke "Un pied dans la théorie, l'autre dans la pratique".

Clarke, S. P. (2000). L’Infirmière du Québec : Revue Officielle de L’Ordre Des Infirmières et Infirmiers du Québec, 8(1), 15-18.

Secondary Analysis: Theoretical, Methodological, and Practical Considerations

Clarke, S. P., & Cossette, S. (2000). Canadian Journal of Nursing Research, 32(3), 109-129.
Abstract
Abstract
Secondary analysis, which involves the use of existing data sets to answer new research questions, is an increasingly popular methodological choice among researchers who wish to investigate particular research questions but lack the resources to undertake primary data collections. Much time loss and considerable frustration may result, however, if researchers begin secondary analyses without an awareness of the distinctive methodological and practical challenges involved. This article highlights difficulties that may arise when researchers use data from previous clinical research projects, including theoretical issues and problems involving sampling, measurement, and external and ecological validity. It also offers practical suggestions for undertaking a secondary analysis and criteria for evaluating secondary analyses.

Characteristics of families--implications for statistical analysis in family nursing research.

Clarke, S. P. (1995). The Canadian Journal of Nursing Research = Revue Canadienne de Recherche en Sciences Infirmieres, 27(1), 47-55.

Increasing the quality of family visits to the ICU

Clarke, S. P. (1995). Dimensions of Critical Care Nursing, 14(4), 200-212. 10.1097/00003465-199507000-00006
Abstract
Abstract
Facilitating family visits in critical care settings is a challenging nursing responsibility. Before family members are in a position to be supportive of patients, they must deal with stressful aspects of the ICU environment. A model of the stages in family visits derived from a clinical field study is described. This model provides a framework for assessment and intervention strategies to facilitate patient-family contact in critical care.