David Picella, PhD, FNP, CNS, GS-C, CPG
Program Director, MSN Adult Gerontology Nurse Practitioner Program and Assistant Professor
David Picella, PhD, has practiced in Home-Based Primary Care (HBPC) as a nurse practitioner (NP) since 1997. In HBPC, Picella led interprofessional teams caring for older adults in nursing homes, assisted living facilities, home settings, and primary care clinics. He was a clinical preceptor at Azusa Pacific University (APU) for five years, followed by one year as adjunct faculty, after which he became full-time faculty in 2018. Currently, Picella serves as the director of the Adult Geriatric Nurse Practitioner (AGNP) Program at APU. In 2019, he received the Geriatric Academic Career Award (GACA) from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), focusing on improving gerontological competencies among faculty and other interprofessional students (IPE), while enhancing care for underserved older adult populations. His current clinical practice focuses on age-friendly and dementia-friendly healthcare in HBPC. Starting in 2023, Picella became project director (PD) for a new HRSA five-year, $5 million Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program (GWEP) at APU. As PD for the GWEP, he is building an academic-practice-based community partnership to educate and train IPE faculty, staff, students, physicians, direct care workers, and others to achieve high-quality outcomes in underserved older adult communities.
Education
- MS, Nursing, California State University, Los Angeles
- PhD, Nursing, University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee
Credentials/Certifications
- Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS)
- Post-Master's Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP)
- Gerontological Specialist (GS-C)
- Certified Professional Gerontologist (CPG)
Academic Area
- School of Nursing
Expertise
- Palliative Care Clinical Nurse Specialist
- Geriatric Primary Care
- Family Practice
Courses Taught
- GNRS 508A – Research and Theory in Advanced Practice Nursing
- GNRS 513 – Advanced Nursing Practice Role
- GNRS 581 – Primary Health Care of the Older Adult
- GNRS 597 – Comprehensive Examination Directed Study
- GNRS 612L – Advanced Health Assessment and Diagnostic Reasoning Lab