Debra Bakerjian is an associate adjunct professor at the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis. Previously, Bakerjian was a Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing Postdoctoral Fellow with specialties in health policy and system change.
Bakerjian’s research aims to maximize the role of advanced practice nursing and improve the quality of care for aging populations. Her research focuses on the role of nurse practitioners and physician assistants; patient safety and quality improvement practices in long-term care, particularly nursing homes; care transitions between acute-care facilities, nursing homes and assisted living centers; pressure ulcer prevention and management; pain management; chronic disease management in frail older adults; and interprofessional education and practice.
Bakerjian was a Pat Archbold Predoctoral Scholar and a Claire M. Fagin Postdoctoral Fellow at UC San Francisco in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, where she was also an assistant adjunct professor. She earned a Doctor of Philosophy in Health Policy and Gerontology in 2006 and a Master in Science of Nursing in 1992, both from UC San Francisco School of Nursing. Her doctoral study, “Utilization of Nurse Practitioners in Nursing Homes: A Comparison with Physicians,” received the 2006 Dissertation of the Year Award at UC San Francisco. Bakerjian earned a Family Nurse Practitioner and Physician Assistant certificate from the UC Davis School of Medicine in 1991 and a Bachelor of Science in Health Services Administration from the University of Phoenix in 1983. She received an Associate Degree in Nursing from Evergreen Valley College in San Jose, Calif., in 1977.
Bakerjian is active in both state and national organizations associated with the care of older adults. She serves on the board of directors for Advancing Excellence in American Nursing Homes’ and on theNational Quality Forum’s Skilled Nursing Facility Technical Expert Panel for Serious Reportable Events and Common Formats. She is on the Health Sciences Executive Committee of the Gerontological Society of America and the Quality Measures Committee for the American Geriatrics Society. She is also chair of the Nursing Home Special Interest Group and past president of the Gerontological Advanced Practice Nurses Association and current president of the Gerontological Advanced Practice Nurses Association Foundation. She serves on the executive committee and is the incoming president of the California Association of Long Term Care Medicine. She is also a member of the advisory committee for the American Medical Director’s Association Clinical Practice Guidelines.