Cynthia Bacon
PhD, RN, CNE, NE-BC
Associate Professor and Concentration Coordinator for Leadership and Administration
Contact Information
Office: 266 Nursing and Instructional Building
Telephone: 336-334-4648
Email: c_bacon@uncg.edu
PhD – University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Nursing
MSN – Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing
MAS – Johns Hopkins Carey School of Business
BSN – Notre Dame of Maryland University
Dr. Cindy Bacon’s program of research focuses on how the work environment for nurses can be improved to facilitate positive nurse and patient outcomes. This research addresses improving the work environment for nurses, a key effort supported by the American Nurses Association (ANA), the American Organization of Nurse Leaders (AONL) and numerous professional nursing organizations. Healthy work environments for nurses are comprised of structural components where nurses participate in decision making, have control over nursing practice, and engage in collaborative relationships. A great deal of research evidence consistently demonstrates the link between positive nurse and patient outcomes and healthy work environments. Dr. Bacon's work focuses on the factors that support a healthy work environment for nurses and their patients, and incorporates all three of the important structural components for professional nursing practice.
Dr. Bacon's most recent funding was a grant for $240,000 from the Duke Endowment with Cone Health (Duke Endowment Grant #6814-S, $240,000, May 2019-June 2022) “Improving quality and safety using the workload intensity staffing delivery of care model.” This study focused on implementation of a new staffing model utilizing workload intensity (WI), a point-based system created by staff nurses to more effectively match nursing resources to patient needs. The WI intervention was well received by the nursing staff and resulted in more balanced workloads for nurses. Nurses were encouraged by the changes brought about by the implementation of WI including incorporating WI as standard work and the effective use of the WI tool. Her research team is now disseminating the study data via multiple publications.
Dr. Bacon is active in multiple professional nursing organizations. Among these is the national-level Association for Leadership Science in Nursing (ALSN) where she is a board member and the editor for the ALSN Journal of Nursing Administration (JONA) column. She is also active in the state-level North Carolina Organization of Nurse Leaders (NCONL) where she is co-chair of the Research Committee and organizes research activities across the state and the annual conference. She is passionate about graduate leadership education for nurses and is the Program Director for the master's programs here at UNCG School of Nursing.