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.

Prof. 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)
Class of 1965 25th Reunion Term Chair, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing [for enduring contributions to undergraduate education] (2006)
Fellow, American Academy of Nursing (2006)
Junior Faculty Research Award, Biobehavioral and Health Sciences Division School of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania (2006)
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., 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 Integrative Review of the Hands-Free Technique in the OR

Linzer, P. B., & Clarke, S. (2017). In AORN Journal (Vols. 106, Issues 3, pp. 211-218.e6). 10.1016/j.aorn.2017.07.004
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Sharps injury rates are proportionally higher in perioperative areas than in other practice settings. The hands-free technique (HFT) has been shown to decrease the hazards of sharps injuries when passing sharps during surgery. We reviewed and synthesized research studies regarding compliance with the HFT and factors facilitating its use using a key word search of online databases and a secondary search of references. We reviewed English language studies published since 2001 regarding HFT compliance rates or related factors using the Johns Hopkins Nursing Evidence-Based Practice Model and Guidelines. We found 14 articles reporting a wide range of HFT compliance rates (ie, 5% to 84%), which identified that a number of organizational factors and health care workers’ perceptions of infection risks influenced the use of the HFT.

The quality of primary care provided by nurse practitioners to vulnerable Medicare beneficiaries

DesRoches, C. M., Clarke, S., Perloff, J., O'Reilly-Jacob, M., & Buerhaus, P. (2017). In Nursing outlook (Vols. 65, Issues 6, pp. 679-688). 10.1016/j.outlook.2017.06.007
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Background Studies suggest nurse practitioners are heavily represented among primary care providers for vulnerable Medicare beneficiaries. Purpose The purpose of this study was to compare quality indicators among three groups of vulnerable beneficiaries managed by MDs and nurse practitioners (NPs). Methods The methods include retrospective cohort design examining 2012 and 2013 Medicare claims for three beneficiary groups: (a) initially qualified for the program due to disability, (b) dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid, and (c) both disabled and dually eligible. Validated quality indicators in four domains were analyzed. Discussion Gaps in outcomes suggest better performance for primary care nurse practitioners (PCNPs) in preventable hospitalizations and adverse outcomes. Outcome gaps suggesting better performance for primary care physicians in chronic disease management were diminished for beneficiaries who were both disabled and dually eligible suggesting improved performance for PCNPs within this subpopulation. Conclusion These findings add new evidence indicating the quality of primary care provided to vulnerable Medicare beneficiaries by PCNPs is generally consistent with clinical guidelines and the less intensive use of costly health care services.

Research for academic credit in the healthcare workplace

Clarke, S. (2017). In Nursing Management (Vols. 48, Issues 6, pp. 18-20). 10.1097/01.NUMA.0000516489.58802.d4
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Research for academic credit in the healthcare workplace

Clarke, S. (2017). In Nursing Made Incredibly Easy (Vols. 15, Issues 5, pp. 6-9). 10.1097/01.NME.0000521814.92516.1e
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Simulation in nursing education

Lavoie, P., & Clarke, S. (2017). In Nursing (Vols. 47, Issues 7, pp. 18-20). 10.1097/01.NURSE.0000520520.99696.9a
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Simulation in nursing education

Lavoie, P., & Clarke, S. (2017). In Nursing Management (Vols. 48, Issues 2, pp. 16-17). 10.1097/01.NUMA.0000511924.21011.1b
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Variation in Cesarean Birth Rates by Labor and Delivery Nurses

Edmonds, J. K., O'Hara, M., Clarke, S., & Shah, N. T. (2017). In JOGNN - Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, and Neonatal Nursing (Vols. 46, Issues 4, pp. 486-493). 10.1016/j.jogn.2017.03.009
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Objective To examine variation in the cesarean birth rates of women cared for by labor and delivery nurses. Design Retrospective cohort study. Setting One high-volume labor and delivery unit at an academic medical center in a major metropolitan area. Participants Labor and delivery nurses who cared for nulliparous women who gave birth to term, singleton fetuses in vertex presentation. Methods Data were extracted from electronic hospital birth records from January 1, 2013 through June 30, 2015. Cesarean rates for individual nurses were calculated based on the number of women they attended who gave birth by cesarean. Nurses were grouped into quartiles by their cesarean rates, and the effect of these rates on the likelihood of cesarean birth was estimated by a logit regression model adjusting for patient-level characteristics and clustering of births within nurses. Results Seventy-two nurses attended 3,031 births. The mean nurse cesarean rate was 26% (95% confidence interval [23.9, 28.1]) and ranged from 8.3% to 48%. The adjusted odds of cesarean for births attended by nurses in the highest quartile was nearly 3 times (odds ratio = 2.73, 95% confidence interval [2.3, 3.3]) greater than for births attended by nurses in the lowest quartile. Conclusion The labor and delivery nurse assigned to a woman may influence the likelihood of cesarean birth. Nurse-level cesarean birth data could be used to design practice improvement initiatives to improve nurse performance. More precise measurement of the relative influence of nurses on mode of birth is needed.

What you need to know about the NCLEX-RN®

Clarke, S. (2017). In Nursing Management (Vols. 48, Issues 10, pp. 21-23). 10.1097/01.NUMA.0000524821.72029.0a
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The BSN entry into practice debate

Clarke, S. (2016). In Nursing Management (Vols. 47, Issues 11, pp. 17-19). 10.1097/01.NUMA.0000502806.22177.c4
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Canadian nursing supervisors' perceptions of monitoring discipline orders : Opportunities for regulator-employer collaboration

Ismail, F., & Clarke, S. (2016). In Journal of Nursing Regulation (Vols. 6, Issues 4, pp. 68-72). 10.1016/S2155-8256(16)31005-5
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Employers are uniquely situated to assist regulators by monitoring nurses practicing with conditions and restrictions resulting from a discipline order by a regulator. However, attitudes, perceptions, and contextual factors may impact employers' participation, and their education and training needs must be considered. A quality-improvement study was conducted to target these areas and provide direction to regulators in developing education and outreach efforts for employers.