For the past 15 years, Karen Mascolo, DNP, RN, a Kent State University College of Nursing professor, has helped prepare future nurses to lead with confidence, navigate challenges and make meaningful differences in the lives of others. Whether she is teaching first-year nursing students, mentoring future nurse leaders or conducting projects to address workplace incivility, Mascolo is driven by a simple goal: helping nurses thrive.
She currently teaches undergraduate, master’s and doctoral nursing student courses focused on professional nursing practice, leadership and program development. Her favorite part of the job? The students she interacts with every day.
“They truly do bring me joy,” said Mascolo. “The undergraduate students are so excited to become nurses, and the graduate students come with such a wealth of knowledge and experience.”
Mascolo’s passion for nursing leadership stems from her belief that great leaders can improve both patient outcomes and the experiences of the nurses they support.
“I have always gravitated toward leadership roles,” said Mascolo, believing that effective leadership is rooted in collaboration and in recognizing the strengths every team member brings to the team, “If we leverage the talents and gifts of all of us, the outcomes are so much better, both for the patients and for those caring for patients.”
Throughout her career, Mascolo has put her leadership philosophy into practice. One of her proudest accomplishments was independently developing and implementing a school health nursing program from the ground up, an idea that first began as a project in her master’s nursing administration program. Inspired by concerns that untrained school personnel were administering insulin and providing other complex care to K-12 students, Mascolo envisioned a hospital-based school nursing model that would provide greater oversight, training and support for school nurses.
She initially launched the program herself before later partnering with Akron Children’s Hospital. Through that partnership, Mascolo, along with more than 100 staff members, transitioned to expand the initiative across Northeast Ohio. Under her leadership, the program grew to serve multiple school districts throughout the region, fundamentally transforming how school health services are delivered throughout Summit County and beyond.
“That program is still going strong at Akron Children’s Hospital,” said Mascolo. “It started with a vision to ensure school-age students received safe, high-quality nursing care in their schools, and it’s incredibly rewarding to see how much it has grown.”
In addition to her leadership work, Mascolo has become a strong advocate for addressing incivility and bullying within the nursing profession. Having experienced workplace bullying herself, she now focuses on helping future nurses develop the tools and confidence needed to navigate those challenges.
“It seems counterintuitive that this would be a problem in a caring profession, but it is an unfortunate reality,” said Mascolo.
Her evidence-based practice work at Kent State focuses on helping students recognize, address and mitigate workplace incivility before entering the workforce. She has developed resources and learning activities that faculty can incorporate into courses and clinical experiences to better prepare students for professional practice.
“When I attended nursing school, no one told us this could happen or what to do about it,” said Mascolo. “I want our students to graduate with tools and strategies to address incivility not if, but when, it happens.”
Mascolo credits much of her teaching style to her diverse nursing background. Throughout her career, she has worked in labor and delivery, orthopedic surgery, home care, school health, nursing administration and private business ownership. Those experiences have allowed Mascolo to connect classroom concepts to real-world situations students may encounter throughout their careers.
“I think the real-life experiences I share with students augment the didactic content and make it more real for them,” said Mascolo.
Her approach to teaching workplace incivility is one example of how she transforms real-world experiences into meaningful learning opportunities for students. Drawing from her own experiences with bullying as a nurse, Mascolo openly shares her story with students to help them understand that incivility can happen to anyone and to emphasize the importance of being prepared to respond. Through Kent State’s Design Innovation Fellowship, she developed interactive “Choose Your Own Adventure” video scenarios that allow students to practice cognitive rehearsal techniques for navigating difficult workplace interactions. In face-to-face courses, she also encourages her students to participate in role-playing exercises to build confidence responding to uncivil encounters in real time.
When it comes to student success, she encourages future nurses to keep things in perspective. While she wants students to strive for excellence, she also reminds them that perfection is not the goal. Growth, resilience and a commitment to learning are what ultimately shape great nurses.
“Nursing can be challenging, but it is so worth it,” said Mascolo. “Don’t ever forget your why.”
Reflecting on her time at Kent State, Mascolo says she feels fortunate to work alongside colleagues who genuinely care about students and each other.
“I work with an excellent group of nurses who care about our students and each other,” said Mascolo. “It truly is a blessing to work with such kind, gifted colleagues.”
Before becoming a professor, Mascolo’s own path to nursing was anything but traditional. She began nursing school while raising a young family and balancing significant responsibilities at home. What started as a practical career choice quickly grew into a lifelong passion.
“As I progressed through the program, I fell in love with nursing and I cannot imagine doing anything else,” said Mascolo. Although her path to nursing was not always easy, every challenge helped shape the leader and educator she is today. Mascolo earned her diploma in nursing from Idabelle Firestone School of Nursing at Akron City Hospital in 1987, before continuing her education at the University of Akron, where she earned both her BSN in 2003 and MSN in 2004. Mascolo later completed her Doctor of Nursing Practice degree at The Ohio State University in 2011. Today, she draws on those experiences to inspire future nurses to embrace growth, overcome challenges and realize their own potential.
