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DaiWai Olson, Ph.D.,  R.N.

DaiWai Olson, Ph.D., R.N.

Professor

Endowed Title
Distinguished Teaching Professor
School
Medical School
Department
Neurology | Neurological Surgery
  • Biography

    Joined UT Southwestern: 2012

    Clinical Interests: He worked as a staff nurse from 1986 to 2018. His work is focused on developing a more comprehensive understanding of how nursing care contributes to patient outcomes following acquired brain injury.

    Trainee Education: As the director of the Neuroscience Nursing Research Center (NNRC), he leads three training initiatives for nurses interested in research:

    • Engaged Nursing Students Partnering In the Research Experience (ENSPIRE)
    • Boot Camp for developing a research protocol 
    • Fellowship to allow nurses to lead and complete a clinical research study 

    Research: His SCOPUS h-index of 48 builds from over 400 publications. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Neuroscience Nursing and the co-chair of the international Curing Coma Campaign. As an invited lecturer or visiting professor, he has had the pleasure of presenting his work in 40 US states, 12 countries, and 6 continents.

    Affiliations: He is a member of the Southwestern Academy of Teachers, a Fellow of the Neurocritical Care Society, and director of the NNRC.

  • Education
    Undergraduate
    Scott Community College (1986), Nursing
    Undergraduate
    Teikyo Marycrest University (1997), Nursing
    Graduate School
    University of N C-Chapel Hill (2007), Nursing
  • Research Interest
    • Curing Coma
    • Impact of nursing care on outcomes for neurocritical care patients
    • Intracranial pressure monitoring
    • Research methodology
  • Publications
    Quantitative Pupillometry: Clinical Applications for the Internist
    Figueroa SA, Olson DW, Kamal A, Aiyagari V American Journal of Medicine 2024 Sep 137 825-831
    Door to needle time trends after transition to tenecteplase: A Multicenter Texas stroke registry
    Rodriguez N, Prasad S, Olson DW, Bandela S, Gealogo Brown G, Kwon Y, Gebreyohanns M, Jones EM, Ifejika NL, Stone S, Anderson JA, Savitz SI, Cruz-Flores S, Warach SJ, Goldberg MP, Birnbaum LA Journal of Stroke and Cerebrovascular Diseases 2024 Aug 33
    Stroke Screening Process for Spanish-Speaking Patients
    Diercks L, Sonka T, Olson D, Courtney DM Journal of Emergency Nursing 2024 Jul 50 537-543
    An Update on Curing Coma Campaign
    Kim KS, Polizzotto L, Suarez JI, Olson DW, Hemphill JC, Mainali S Seminars in Neurology 2024 Jun 44 389-397
    Guidelines for Seizure Prophylaxis in Adults Hospitalized with Moderate–Severe Traumatic Brain Injury: A Clinical Practice Guideline for Health Care Professionals from the Neurocritical Care Society
    Frontera JA, Gilmore EJ, Johnson EL, Olson DW, Rayi A, Tesoro E, Ullman J, Yuan Y, Zafar SF, Rowe S Neurocritical Care 2024 Jun 40 819-844
    The Presence of Blood in a Strain Gauge Pressure Transducer Has a Clinical Effect on the Accuracy of Intracranial Pressure Readings
    Nairon EB, Joseph J, Kamal A, Busch DR, Olson DM Critical Care Explorations 2024 May 6 E1089
    Implementing a Critical Thinking Tool to Evaluate Educational Needs for Inpatient Rehabilitation Nurses
    Hill C, Stutzman SE, Nairon EB, Vashisht A, Olson DM Journal of Neuroscience Nursing 2024 May 56 75-79
    Validation of a Novel Neurologic Assessment Test for Healthcare Staff
    Doyle BR, Von Gaudecker JR, Techan AK, Nairon EB, Olson DM Journal of Neuroscience Nursing 2024 May 56 86-91
    Nursing and the Art of Making It Happen
    Olson DM Journal of Neuroscience Nursing 2024 May 56 65-66
    Dissemination Beyond the Edge of the Page
    Olson DW Journal of Neuroscience Nursing 2024 Apr 56 31
  • Books

    Featured 

  • Honors & Awards
    • D-Magazine Excellence in Nursing
      Award for Excellence in Nursing Research (2021)
    • Excellence in Nursing Award
      D-Magazine. Dallas TX. (2021)
    • The World Federation of Critical Care Nurses 2020 Best Paper Award
      "Lack of standardization in determination of intracranial pressure.” Published in CONNECT: The World of Critical Care Nursing. (2020)
    • Visiting Professor
      Queensland University of Technology in Kelvin Grove Australia (2019)
    • Presidential Citation
      Neurocritical Care Society (2018)
    • Southwestern Academy of Teachers
      (2017)
    • Suzanne Smith Mentoring Award
      London, England (2016)
    • Fellow, Neurocritical Care Society
      (2014)
    • Presidential Citation
      Award for recognition from the Neurocritical Care Society (2013)
    • North Carolina Great 100
      Recognition for top 100 nurses in N.C. (2011)
  • Professional Associations/Affiliations
    • American Association of Critical Care Nurses (1990)
    • American Association of Neuroscience Nurses (2007)
    • American Heart Association (2009)
    • International Association of Nurse Editors (2015)
    • Neurocritical Care Society (2005)
    • Sigma Theta Tau (1997)
    • Society of Critical Care Medicine (2002)