Barbara B. Hobbs, PhD, RN, CNAA, BC
Associate Professor

West River Nursing Department Head

West River Nursing

1011 11th Street
Rapid City, SD 57701

Phone: (605) 394-5390
E-mail: Barbara.Hobbs@sdstate.edu

I completed my Doctorate of Philosophy in Nursing at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in 2004; Masters in Science in Adult Nursing Administration at California State University, Bakersfield in 1991, and Bachelors of Science in Nursing from San Diego State University in 1970. I have more than 25 years of hospital experience and have held staff nurse, in-service education, middle management and administrative positions in hospitals with less than 35 and more than 350+licensed beds. My clinical practice is in critical and cardiac care.

Currently, I am the West River Nursing Department Head. My teaching focus is in the areas of leadership and management, acute care nursing and quantitative research methods. I have been a clinical instructor in adult medical/surgical nursing. Memberships and affiliations include the American Nurses Association, Sigma Theta Tau, Int., and the International Working Time Society.

My doctoral research examined individual differences and sleep disturbances in White and Native American nurse shift workers; my master’s thesis focused on nurse managers’ attitude toward chemically impaired nurses. My current research interests lie in examining how work factors affect nurses’ health, injuries, drowsy driving and sleep. I am interested in improving working conditions for an older nurse workforce and in developing strategies to enhance retention of both new and experienced nurses. Research studies include: Countermeasures for post-shift drowsy driving “pilot study”, time and work ability of SD nurse faculty and RN preceptors; sleep disturbances in ethnic nurse shift workers, ethnicity and time custom differences.