Research Interests

Interprofessional Education, Simulation, Clinical Evaluation

Bio

Dr. Laura S. Bonanno is a tenured Professor of Nursing at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center School of Nursing.  She received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Southeastern Louisiana University (1987); a Master of Science from Charity Hospital/Xavier University School of Nurse Anesthesiology (1995); a Doctor of Nursing Practice from the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center in Memphis (2008); and a PhD in Educational Administration from the University of New Orleans (2019). Dr. Bonanno’s dissertation was entitled: Nurse Anesthesia Program Administrator Decision-Making in Determining Interventions for a Student Exhibiting Unsatisfactory Clinical Performance.

Dr. Bonanno is the program director for the Nurse Anesthesia Program and has held this position since 2007.  She maintains a clinical practice as a part-time Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) and clinical instructor at University Medical Center in New Orleans, Louisiana.  Dr. Bonanno has experience in the administration of general anesthesia and monitored anesthesia care for general surgery, ENT, thoracic, cardiac, vascular, pediatric, neuro, trauma, orthopedic, oral surgery, special procedures, plastic surgery, GU and OB cases on all ASA classifications.  She participates in annual medical/surgical mission trips to Guatemala.

Dr. Bonanno has held several key leadership positions in nursing and nurse anesthesia. She currently serves as a CRNA Educator Member on the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educations Programs (COA) and previously served as Vice-President and President of the COA.  Dr. Bonanno is a member of the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA) Faculty Stabilization Task Force and previously served on the AANA/COA Full Scope of Practice Competency Task Force. Dr. Bonanno served two consecutive four-year terms (2013-2021) on the Louisiana State Board of Nursing – four years as Vice President and two years as President. In addition, she previously served on the AANA Practice Committee for four years and the AANA Government Relations Committee for one year.  She served two terms as President of the Louisiana Association of Nurse Anesthetists (1998 and 2001) and has held several other leadership roles in the association

Dr. Bonanno’s research interest and publication areas include Interprofessional Education, and Clinical Evaluation and has published extensively in peer reviewed journals and books. She is a Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Comprehensive Systematic Review trainer.  Dr. Bonanno is an experienced grant writer and has authored and/or served as principal investigator of numerous funded grants. Dr. Bonanno serves as a peer-reviewer for several nursing and healthcare related journals and is on the editorial board of The International Journal of Student Nurse Anesthetists.

Dr. Bonanno received the Louisiana Nurses Foundation Nightingale Advanced Practice Nurse of the Year in 2016.  She will be inducted as a Fellow in the American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology in August 2022 and a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing in October 2022. Dr. Bonanno has been recognized by the National Scholars Honor Society, the Golden Key International Honour Society, and Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society and was named one of the Great 100 Nurses of Louisiana in 2008.