Sharon Tucker is director of the Implementation Science Core at the Fuld National Institute for EBP and holder of the Grayce Sills Endowed Professor in Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing at The Ohio State University College of Nursing. She is also associate dean for Health Promotion and Wellbeing and director for the Center for Wellness and Prevention at the College of Nursing. A board (ANCC) certified adult psychiatric mental health clinical nurse specialist, licensed APRN-CNS in Ohio and behavioral researcher, Tucker focuses on behavioral interventions to promote health and wellness, prevent disease, and reduce stress and risks among families, particularly among working mothers and children. Her interventions include environmental strategies, cognitive behavioral interventions, and motivational interviewing, which she teaches, studies and practices.
In addition to being recognized as an expert in health and wellness interventions and strategies, Tucker is a known leader in evidence-based practice (EBP), implementation science, and quality improvement. She served as director of research, EBP and quality for two Magnet-designated, large hospitals in academic medical centers (University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and Mayo Clinic) for 15 years prior to joining OSU in 2017. Research and EBP outcomes were recognized by the Magnet surveyors as exemplary for both hospitals. Dr. Tucker led her team at the University of Iowa (UI) Hospitals and Clinics in the writing of a successful competitive application for the prestigious Magnet Prize, which was awarded in 2014 for their legacy work in EBP. In partnership with the UI College of Nursing, they were also awarded recognitions for collaborative partnerships by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing in 2014 and the Midwest Nursing Research Society in 2017.
Tucker developed and published the Evidence-Based Practice Self-Efficacy Scale in 2009, and since tracking its use beginning in 2013, the scale has been requested over 1340 times coming from 40 countries. She is co-author of two books on EBP, one published in 2008 titled Evidence-based nursing care guidelines: Medical-surgical interventions (St. Louis, MO: Mosby Elsevier) and one published in 2018 titled Evidence-based practice in action: Comprehensive strategies, tools and tips from the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics (Indianapolis: Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing). She has written multiple papers and chapters on EBP and implementation aimed to advance safe, high quality clinical nursing care.
Tucker earned her BSN from the College of Saint Teresa in Winona, Minnesota, a MSN from the University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire, and her PhD in Nursing from Rush University in Chicago. She is an alumna of the Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Fellows Program (2007 Cohort) and was elected as a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing in 2014 and as a fellow to the National Academies of Practice in 2019. In addition, T5:06 PMucker has been on the Board of Directors for the Midwest Nursing Research Society since 2015, currently serving as treasurer, and is the Chair of the Health Behavior Expert Panel of the American Academy of Nursing. She is the associate editor of Worldviews in Evidence-based Nursing, a member of the Advisory Board for Evidence-Based Practice in Nursing and Healthcare 4th Edition (Melynk & Fineout-Overholt), and appointed member of the Editorial Advisory Board of the Journal of School Nursing. She regularly reviews conference abstracts, grants, and manuscripts for several interdisciplinary and nursing journals.