Angela Karakachian

Dr. Angela Karakachian serves as an Assistant Professor in Duquesne University's School of Nursing since 2014, specializing in pediatric nursing and ethical clinical practice. Her research directly addresses critical workforce challenges in high-stress nursing environments through evidence-based interventions.

Her academic credentials include:

• PhD in Nursing, Duquesne University School of Nursing
• MSN in Nursing Education, University of Phoenix
• BSN, Saint Joseph University, Beirut, Lebanon

Dr. Karakachian's research program centers on child maltreatment response systems and nurse psychological resilience. She investigates moral distress triggers in pediatric abuse cases, develops screening protocols for abused children, and creates burnout mitigation strategies. Her work bridges forensic nursing standards with frontline clinical practice, particularly focusing on how moral injury impacts retention in pediatric specialties. Recent expansions address poverty recognition in student populations and mentoring efficacy for mental health support.

Analysis of her 15 most recent publications reveals three evolving research trajectories: 1) Foundational studies establishing moral distress-burnout-intention to leave correlations (2017-2021), 2) Intervention development for child abuse identification (2021-2022), and 3) Contemporary expansions into pandemic workforce resilience and social determinants of health (2022-2024). This progression demonstrates increasing methodological complexity from case studies to cross-sectional analyses and intervention trials.

Her research excellence is recognized through:

• Leach Award from Duquesne University
• Sigma Theta Tau International Joan K. Stout, RN Research Grant
• Duquesne University School of Nursing Distinguished Dissertation Award (2020)
• International Association of Forensic Nursing Grant (2019)
• Sigma Theta Phi Epsilon Chapter Award (2019)
• Featured Author in Journal of Forensic Nursing (2019)
• Linda Strangio Editor's Award from Journal of Radiology Nursing (2018)

As principal investigator, she secures competitive funding for high-impact projects addressing nursing's most urgent ethical challenges. Her community engagement includes peer reviewing for major nursing journals and leadership roles in the International Association of Forensic Nurses (where she serves on review panels) and Society of Pediatric Nursing. She currently holds vice presidency in Sigma Epsilon Phi Chapter while mentoring future forensic nursing specialists through curriculum development.

Dr. Karakachian leads an active research collective focused on translating child abuse identification protocols into clinical practice. Her team collaborates with hospital forensic departments, radiology units, and social services to implement evidence-based screening algorithms while documenting implementation barriers. Current work integrates telehealth components for rural community access to specialized pediatric forensic consultation.