Research Interests

Holistic nursing, Curanderismo, traditional healing systems

Biography

Professor Caroline Ortiz, Ph.D., MSN, RN, NC-BC, has developed holistic health programs for healthcare providers and general audiences, participated in complementary medicine clinical research, and created a Spanish-language guided meditation library for Health Journeys. She is active with the National Association of Hispanic Nurses – New York Chapter and the Integrative Health Project’s work in Guatemala and is an Associate Professor at the Pacific College of Health and Science’s Holistic Nursing Programs. She is also a curandera (f., traditional healer) apprentice and researcher of curanderismo (traditional medicine of Mesoamerican roots) in the U.S.

Education

Caroline earned a BSN from the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, TX, a dual Master of Science degree in Advanced Public Health Nursing (MSN) and Urban Public Health (MPH) from the City University of New York – Hunter College, and a PhD in Nursing Education from Villanova University. She is also a board-certified integrative nurse coach (NC-BC) through the International Nurse Coach Association.

Courses

IHL 6512 Indigenous, Folk, and Ancestral Medicine

Publications

Zanca, J., Gilchrist, C., Ortiz, C. E., & Dyson-Hudson, T. A. (2021). Pilot clinical trial of a clinical meditation and imagery intervention for chronic pain after spinal cord injury. Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine. DOI: 10.1080/10790268.2021.1970894.

Kligler, B., McDonald, E., Teets, R., Ortiz, C. E., Gilchrist, C., Waltermaurer, E., & Perez, E. (2018). A randomized trial of a group-based integrative medicine approach compared to waitlist control on irritable bowel syndrome symptoms in adults. Explore, 14(6), 406–413.