The Office of Research sat down with Linda Cassar, D.N.P., M.S.N., B.S.N., RNC, CNE - Associate Professor and Interim Assistant Dean of Faculty Affairs - to learn more about her and her work at GW.
Hometown and Educational Background
I grew up in Pompton Lakes, NJ, a suburb about 45 minutes west of New York City. I lived there until I went off to college. I have lived in the Northern Virginia area until I recently moved to the beach in Delaware. I graduated with my BSN in 1991 from William Paterson College. In 2006, I received my MSN with a concentration in Nursing Education from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. Finally, in 2016, I received my DNP degree from The George Washington University School of Nursing with a concentration in Executive Leadership. Along the way, I have obtained my RNC-OB certification in In Patient Obstetrics (2003) and my Certified Nurse Educator credential (2018). My clinical background has been in Women’s and Children’s Health.
How I Got Interested In Research
In 2018, I was selected to participate in The Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric, and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN) Emerging Leaders program. I served on the Research Advisory Panel, during which time I learned a lot about research and was encouraged by a mentor to apply for their Novice Researcher grant. I applied and received the grant to study compassion fatigue in Labor and Delivery and Labor, Delivery, Recovery, and Postpartum nurses. My scholarship has since focused on wellness for this population of nurses and patients. In light of the maternal mortality crisis in this country, I feel that more attention and research needs to be focused on this topic and strategies need to be implemented to decrease these rates. In 2025, I completed an editorial fellowship with MCN: The American Journal of Maternal Child Nursing. I really loved this experience and feel that I learned so much about what goes into writing a successful piece for publication and what the responsibilities of the editor of the journal are.
Current Work
Currently, I am working on a pilot project with my colleague, Dr. Adriana Glenn, that was funded by a George Washington University School of Nursing’s intramural grant, titled ‘Analysis of Communication Patterns During Perinatal Care for Black Patients in Community Clinical Settings’. It is our hope that in completing this project, we will be able to provide some insight into the provision of respectful maternity care, and how that may contribute to decreasing the maternal mortality rate in African American women in the United States. Statistically, Black women are about three times more likely to die in the perinatal period than their peers in other ethnic groups. I am also part of the team within the School of Nursing that is working on the HRSA grant - “RNs Beyond the Beltway” initiative. This four-year award provides the school an opportunity to expand ABSN/VBSN enrollment and strengthen our nursing workforce, with a special emphasis on preparing graduates to deliver care in rural communities across the lifespan.
Fun Facts
A fun and little-known fact about me is that Paul Rudd is my (distant) cousin. Our grandmothers are cousins, and I am friends with his uncle on Facebook! We have only met a few times, when we were both much younger.