Worthy of Recognition
For more than 20 years, Doris Noel Ugarriza, Ph.D., A.R.N.P., M.S.N. ’81, has been instilling
confidence in others—first in her patients
and now with her colleagues at the
University of Miami School of Nursing
and Health Studies. Ugarriza was recently
promoted from associate professor to a
professor in the tenured track.
“Promotion to professor means that my
University peers, by virtue of their vote, have
confidence that I have dutifully fulfilled the
requirements of that distinction,” says
Ugarriza. “Needless to say, it is quite gratifying
to hold the support and respect of one’s
peers, especially in an atmosphere where
promotions are based on the rigorous standings
of research, teaching, and service that
the School of Nursing and Health Studies and
the entire University of
Miami community have.”
Among her responsibilities
are implementing
research at an international
level, furthering the
cause of the discipline of
nursing, teaching undergraduate
and graduate students of nursing,
mentoring new faculty, and providing
service to the school, the University, the
greater Miami-Dade community, and the
worldwide health community.
In 1989, Ugarriza received her Ph.D. in nursing from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, though she has been employed at the University of Miami since 1987. Before becoming a faculty member, she worked in almost every area of nursing, including the automobile industry, where she cared for persons who were injured on the job making cars.
“I [also] worked in general hospitals as a head nurse, recovery room, emergency room and later, when I became a nurse practitioner, I was in collaborative practice with a physician,” Ugarriza says.
Out of these diverse experiences was born a profound concern for mental health. Her primary research interests lie in this area, with an emphasis on issues relating to women, such as depression and postpartum depression. One of her current projects is an exploration of the incidence of postpartum depression in adolescent mothers. She plans to expand her research on postpartum depressed mothers in the realm of health policy.
Numerous publications, grants, and awards, including a 2003-2004 Fulbright scholarship in Cyprus for a teaching grant project, further illustrate her staunch dedication to mental health awareness, education, and support.
“When I worked in mental health, I noticed the stigma that women who suffered from postpartum depression were exposed to,” Ugarriza recalls. “At that time, I decided to do research and try to combat some of the discomfort and stigma associated with the condition.”
From hospital room to classroom, Ugarriza has accomplished all of this and more.
