Glenda S. Perez

Glenda S. Perez, MSN/Ed, RNC-OB, C-EFM is a recipient of the Johnson & Johnson Edwidge Thomas Scholarship. Currently, she is a doctoral candidate at Barry University’s Nursing Ph.D. Program. Glenda’s research focus is on human trafficking in nursing education. Glenda developed an interest in education at a young age given her family’s difficulties acclimating to life in America. They emigrated during the massive Cuban migrant exodus of 1994 with only the clothes on their backs and dreams of a better life.

The desire to validate her family’s sacrifices in pursuit of a better life galvanized her interest as a lifelong learner. Education was ingrained in her mind as the key to success. As an adolescent, Glenda attended a technical program for high school students to receive a practical nursing education along with their diploma. This exposure to nursing resulted in Glenda finding her passion for providing high quality nursing care to vulnerable populations. Glenda went on to receive her Associate of Science in Nursing degree from Miami Dade Community College.

After accomplishing being the first person in her family to graduate from college in a century, she continued to pursue her education. Glenda went on to receive her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Miami Dade College and her Master of Science in Nursing Education from Chamberlain University.

As a nurse with a graduate level education, Glenda began to see the gaps that fragmented healthcare, especially for her vulnerable patients. This inspired Glenda to transition to a nurse educator role working with undergraduate nursing students from minority populations. This population faced unique challenges on their academic nursing journey and Glenda understood how their experiences presented given her own background. Teaching nursing provided an opportunity to ensure the future generation of nurses was trained to provide competent high quality nursing care to all clients.

The COVID-19 pandemic served as the final motivation to convince Glenda that she needed to pursue a doctoral degree, at Barry University’s PhD in Nursing Program, and become a nurse researcher. The pandemic further shed light on the inadequacies and inequities in our healthcare system. Many of these disparities disproportionately affected vulnerable populations resulting in poor outcomes. At that time, Glenda felt the need to rise to the occasion and contribute towards enriching the nursing profession’s body of knowledge with pragmatic research that would offer solutions to pressing issues. Glenda was convinced that nursing needed practical solutions and “the work had to come from us”.

As a clinician, Glenda has clinical expertise in a variety of settings allowing her to provide real world applications to the nursing students she serves. Glenda has worked caring for home health, medical surgical, psychiatric, surgical, and obstetric clients throughout her career. Providing women’s health and inpatient obstetrical care opened Glenda’s eyes further to the necessity for competent nurses and a nurse driven body of knowledge. Glenda pursued specialization and became certified in inpatient obstetrics and electronic fetal monitoring.

Glenda serves as an advocate for women’s health and vulnerable populations in the South Florida community working for a nonprofit healthcare institution. She remains engaged in her professional organizations such as Nurses United Against Human Trafficking, National Hispanic Nurse’s Association, The Association of Women’s Health, Obstetrics, and Neonatal Nurses, and Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing.

Receiving the support of NEF through this scholarship will make it possible for Glenda to expand her research on human trafficking in nursing education by reaching and empowering more nurse educators with evidence based training and best practices for teaching human trafficking content to nursing students. There are tremendous gaps that need to be addressed when it comes to teaching human trafficking and this generous scholarship will open doors to ensure nurses are trained to identify and support these vulnerable clients and provide them with the practical resources they desperately need. As a nurse researcher, Glenda hopes to continue to engage in pragmatic research which yields real world solutions that are practical. She strives to make significant contributions to the nursing body of knowledge that will provide a better foundation for future nurses to build their own nursing careers on. Eradicating human trafficking from the face of the earth is a tall order and nurses are positioned to lead the efforts to ensure individuals are the recipients of ethical healthcare provided with the preservation of their dignity as a priority.