Newark, New Brunswick, & Blackwood, NJ
Interim Associate Dean of the Advanced Practice Division, Associate Professor & Specialty Director of Family Nurse Practitioner Program
Division of Advanced Nursing Practice
Newark Health Sciences
SSB 1137
Dr. Persephone Vargas is specialty director for the Doctor of Nursing Practice and Post/Master’s Certificate Family Nurse Practitioner Programs. She is an experienced and dynamic educator and clinician dedicated to elevating the nursing profession through leadership and advocacy, education, patient care, and research and scholarship.
Prior to joining Rutgers School of Nursing, Dr. Vargas held an academic faculty position at William Paterson University (2015-2022). During her tenure, she was coordinator of level four of the undergraduate program and lead coordinator of the Family Nurse Practitioner, Adult-Gerontology Nurse Practitioner, and Post-Master’s Certificate Programs. She served as chair of the school’s Assessment and Evaluation committee and was actively involved in CCNE accreditation. She is also an expert in online teaching and course development based on her experience in building and executing several online courses in their newly established online nurse practitioner program.
Dr. Vargas’ role as an educator and clinician has allowed her to meld her interests and guide her scholarly and research focus in the areas of Filipino American immigrant health. Her clinical background in cardiovascular health stimulated her interest in acculturation, diet, and obesity among Filipino American immigrants. Her goal is to help eliminate health disparities and promote culturally appropriate interventions to improve the health of this at-risk population. Her dedication to this area of health and health care and nursing education have resulted in multiple publications and national and international presentations.
Dr. Vargas is an active member of the Philippine Nurses Association of America and other Filipino community organizations. In 2018, she was awarded the Nurse Practitioner of the Year Award from the Philippine Nurses Association of America and finalist for the March of Dimes Nurse Educator of the Year.
Dr. Vargas earned her Doctor of Nursing Practice degree from William Paterson University and is dual certified as an Adult and Family Nurse Practitioner and maintains a clinical practice in the cardiac access unit at Morristown Medical Center.