Lynda Creighton-Wong

Programs and Courses Taught

N129, N129L

About Me

I am an Assistant Professor at SMU, teaching the Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing course in the ABSN program in Oakland. I have been teaching since 2008, when I started in the community college system and I have been with SMU since 2009, and have taught in the BSN, ELMSN, and ABSN programs.

I have only ever worked in mental health nursing by choice. It is my passion, and I have had a varied career working in acute care, residential, and outpatient settings, managed care environments, and private practice. I have worked both as a therapist and a prescriber. My favorite population to work with are adolescents. In my leisure time, I like to be active, hiking, biking, going to the gym, playing pickleball, salsa dancing, Pilates, and yoga. I also enjoy travel, exploring new bakeries and restaurants, and connecting with family and friends.

Education

I earned my Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Rhode Island College. I earned my Master of Science at University of Rhode Island, where I also completed certification towards my CNS and PMHNP. I am pursuing a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree from Samuel Merritt University, focusing on understanding the relationship between self-care and burnout in behavior health nurses in acute care settings and I hope to complete this by the end of the year.

Teaching Interests

As an educator, I engage with students through process and reflection. I am interested in bringing real-life experiences to coursework and developing innovative experiential courses to build skills and inform attitudes. I am a proponent of the “flipped classroom” model for nursing education. My teaching interests include mental health nursing theory and clinical.

Scholarly Interests

My scholarship has focused on improving DNP students' writing skills, artificial intelligence in education, exploring motivations and barriers for precepting APRN students, and the impact of remote education on students mental health and well-being. Additional interests and scholarly work include clinical practice in collaborative care, suicide risk assessment for APRNs, and virtual simulation during COVID-19.

Publications

1.    Green, S.D., Creighton-Wong, L., & Rice, E. (2026). The Lonely Business of Online Learning: An Assessment and Recommendations for Mitigating Social Isolation in Remote Nursing Education. Nurse Education in Practice. (in press).
2.    Green, S.D., Creighton-Wong, L., Loth, V., Meda, J., Cleary, C., & Rice, E. (2026). Exploring Motivations and Barriers: A Mixed Methods Study of Precepting Among Advanced Practice Behavioral Health Nurses. Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association. (revisions reviewed for publication).
3.    De Mattei, L., Morato, M.Q., Sidhu, V., Gautam, N., Mendonca, C.T., Tsai, A., Hammer, M., Creighton-Wong, L., & Azzam, A. (2024). Are artificial intelligence virtual simulated patients (AI-VSP) a valid teaching modality for health professional students? Clinical Simulation in Nursing 92, 101536 
4.    Hampton M.D., Rosenblum R., Hill-Williams C.D., Creighton-Wong L., Randall W.A. (2022) Scientific writing development: Improve DNP student skill and writing efficiency. Nurse Education Today.112:105334. PMID: 35366529

Book Chapters
1.    Johnson, D., Emanuele, D., Ritter, B., Creighton-Wong, L., Curtis, A.C., Cossette, L., & Williams, M. (2023). Telehealth in Nurse Practitioner Education. In A.C. Curtis & P. Sandhu (Eds.) Nurse practitioner clinical education: A guide for educators, preceptors, and clinical partners. Retrieved from https://www.destechpub.com/product/nurse-practitioner-clinical-education/

Professional Affiliations & Memberships

Sigma Theta Tau, Nursing Honor Society                2015-present
American Psychiatric Nurses Association                2015-present

Community Service

Blood donation, charity rides/runs/drives, Audubon camp summer camp opening week, local community councils, Gerstle Park Neighborhood Association.

Honors & Awards

Student nominated faculty speaker to read the Nightingale Pledge for the pinning ceremony, Accelerated Bachelor of Nursing Program, 2026 
Student nominated faculty speaker to read the Nightingale Pledge for the pinning ceremony, Accelerated Bachelor of Nursing Program, 2024