Rosario Medina is the Associate Dean of Clinical and Community Affairs at the University of Colorado. Her nursing career spans over thirty-five years of hospital and clinical practice in New York City, Southeast Florida and recently Denver Colorado. She has practiced in various major medical and teaching facilities as a staff nurse, charge nurse and nurse manager. She has also practiced as a Clinical Nurse Specialist at Memorial Medical Center and at multiple clinics as a nurse practitioner in Broward and Palm Beach County, Florida. She entered the academic setting in 1993 while maintaining practice and has coordinated and developed numerous theoretical and clinical courses for undergraduate, graduate nurse practitioner and PhD programs.

Dr. Medina’s research trajectory focuses on underserved populations, particularly Hispanics, and their health behaviors. Her dissertation focus is on breast cancer screening practices of Hispanic women of Southeast Florida She has translated and adapted Victoria Champion’s Health Belief Scales (CHBMS) for mammography screening in the Hispanic population the tool is used nationally and internationally. Her work with the underserved Hispanic populations has changed practice through the dissemination of clinical practice-based research on the health beliefs and values of underserved populations, through educating advance practice nurses at improving health care for underserved populations, and via her advocacy work in diversifying the nursing workforce of the future. Dr. Medina received her PhD and ACNP from Barry University, and her FNP from Florida Atlantic University, and CNS from the College of New Rochelle.