Darcy Copeland

Post Graduate Certificate, University of Colorado, Center for Bioethics and Humanities, 2019.
Area of Study: Health Humanities and Ethics

PhD, University of California, 2007.
Area of Study: Nursing

MSN, Fitchburg State College, 2002.
Area of Study: Forensic Nursing

BA, University of Northern Colorado, 1998.
Area of Study: Nursing, Psychology

Professor, University of Northern Colorado
School of Nursing (2013-Present)

Nurse Scientist, St. Anthony Hospital, Lakewood, CO
(2010-Present)

Assistant Professor, University of Portland, Portland, OR
(2007-2010)

Registered Nurse, UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA
(2004-2007)

Research Resident, UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA
(2004-2005)

Registered Nurse, Los Angeles Metropolitan Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA
(2003-2006)

Registered Nurse, Portals Mental Health Rehabilitation Services, Los Angeles, CA
(2002-2003)

Registered Nurse, Souza Baranowski Correctional Center, Shirley, MA
(2001-2002)

Forensic Research Assistant, Dr Harold Bursztajn, Harvard Program in Psychiatry and the Law, Cambridge, MA
(2001-2002)

Graduate Assistant, Fitchburg State College, Special Education Department, Fitchburg, MA
(2000-2002)

Registered Nurse, University Hospital, Denver, CO
(1998-2000)

Areas of Interest

• Nursing workforce
• Workplace violence
• Compassion fatigue
• Moral distress and the psychosocial work environment
• Academic and clinical agency partnerships
• Ethics education
• Healthcare ethics

• Copeland, D. (2025). Nurses’ perceptions and expectations of patient violence: Language Matters. Nursing Reports, 15(85). https://doi.org/10.3390/nursrep15030085
• Copeland, D., Culter, D., Potter, M., Tipton, S. (2025). Nurses’ perceptions of patient violence: Exposure, expectation, risk factors, and risk tolerance. Journal of Clinical Nursing, March. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.17719
• Gruber, B., Matalik, S., Barriger, J., Raybin, J., Copeland, D. (2025). Code lavender pilot: An emotional support intervention for intensive care unit staff. Journal of Pastoral Care and Counseling. https://doi.org/10.1177/15423050251326297
• Cox, A. & Copeland, D. (in press). Nursing student success: A concept analysis. Nursing Education Perspectives.
• Velasco, A., Blakeley, A., Rostovsky, J., Skeete, B. & Copeland, D. (2022). Conceptualizing transgender and gender-diverse older adults as a vulnerable population: A systematic review. Geriatric Nursing, 49, 139-147.
• Copeland, D. (2022). Caring in the context of risk:  Moving beyond duty. Advances in Nursing Science, 46(1). https://doi.org/10.1097/ans.0000000000000458
• Copeland, D. (2022). Liberal arts and ethics education in nursing: A national survey. Journal of Professional Nursing, 42, 73-88.
  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.profnurs.2022.06.007
• Gee, M. & Copeland, D. (2022). Shaming: A concept analysis. Advances in Nursing Science. https://doi.org/10.1097/ans.0000000000000434
• Hood, T. & Copeland, D. (2021). Student nurses’ experiences of critical events in the clinical setting: A grounded theory. Journal of Professional
  Nursing, 37(5), 885-893. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.profnurs.2021.07.007
• Copeland, D. (2021). Stigmatization in nursing: Theoretical pathways and implications. Nursing Inquiry. https://doi.org/10.1111/nin.12438
• Copeland, D. & Arnold, S. (2021). The moral dilemma of interpreting workplace violence. Nursing Inquiry. https://doi.org/10.1111/nin.12406
• Calloway, K. & Copeland, D. (2021). Acute care nurses’ attitudes toward nursing students with disabilities: A focused ethnography. Nurse Education in Practice, 51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nepr.2020.102960
• Copeland, D. (2020). A critical analysis of the American Nurses Association position statement on workplace violence: Ethical implications. Advances in Nursing Science, 44(2), E49-E64. https://doi.org/10.1097/ans.0000000000000345
• Copeland, D. (2020). Psychiatric nurses’ role in the Holocaust and current implications. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 28, 488-493. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpm.12689
• Copeland, D. (2020). Brief workplace interventions to address compassion fatigue and teamwork. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 43(2), 130-137. https://doi.org/10.1177/0193945920938048
• Copeland, D. (2020). Nurses’ participation in the Holocaust: A call to nursing educators. Journal of Professional Nursing.
  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.profnurs.2020.05.003
• Copeland, D. (2020). Paying for nursing student clinical placements, ethical considerations. Journal of Professional Nursing, 36(5), 330-333.
  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.profnurs.2020.01.008
• Copeland, D. (2019). Drug-seeking: A literature review (and an exemplar of stigmatization in nursing). Nursing Inquiry. https://doi.org/10.1111/nin.12329
• Copeland, D. (2019). Moral ecology in nursing: A pluralistic approach. SAGE Open Nursing, 5, 1-8.
• Copeland, D. & Henry, M. (2018). The relationship between workplace violence, perceptions of safety, and Professional Quality of Life among emergency department staff members in a Level 1 Trauma Centre.
  International Journal of Emergency Nursing, 39, 26-32.
  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ienj.2018.01.006
• Copeland, D. & Henry, M. (2017). Workplace violence and perceptions of safety among emergency department staff members: Experiences, expectations, tolerance, reporting and recommendations. Journal of Trauma Nursing, 24(2), 65-77.
• Copeland, D. & Chambers, M. (2017). Effects of unit design on acute care nurses’ walking distances, energy expenditure, and job satisfaction: A pre-post relocation study. Health Environments Research and Design, 10(4), 22-36.
• Copeland, D. & Liska, H. (2016). Implementation of a Post-Code Pause: Extending post event debriefing to include silence. Journal of Trauma Nursing, 23(2), 58-64.
• Copeland, D. & Heilemann, M.V. (2011). Choosing “The best of the hells”: Mothers face housing dilemmas for their adult children with mental illness and history of violence. Qualitative Health Research, 21(4), 520-533.
• Copeland, D., Heilemann, M.V. (2008). Getting “to the point”: the experience of mothers getting assistance for their adult children who are violent and mentally ill. Nursing Research, 57(3), 136-43.
• Copeland, D. (2007). Conceptualizing family members of violent mentally ill individuals as a Vulnerable Population. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 28(9), 943-975.
• Dixon, E.L., Strehlow, A.J., Davis, C.M., Copeland, D., Jones, T., Robinson, L.A., Shoultz, J., Flaskerud, J.H. (2007). Generating science by training future scholars in nursing research addressing the needs of vulnerable populations. Annual Review of Nursing Research,
  25, 161-187.
• Heilemann, M.V. & Copeland, D. (2005). Sources of emotional help sought by low income women of Mexican descent. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 26(2), 185-204.
• Bursztajn, H. & Copeland, D. (2002). [Review of the book Culture and Family Violence, Fostering Change Through Human Rights Law]. The Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, 30(1),187.