Bio
Michelle C. Danda, PhD, MN, MPN, RN, CPMHN(C) is a Clinical Nurse Specialist in adult acute mental health and substance use at Vancouver Coastal Health. She works within the Department of Nursing Professional Practice, where she supports evidence-informed practice, clinical education, quality improvement, and policy development for Registered Nurses, Registered Psychiatric Nurses, and Licensed Practical Nurses.
Dr. Danda holds a PhD in Nursing from the University of Alberta. Her doctoral research explored the history of Registered Psychiatric Nurse education in British Columbia, with a focus on Riverview Hospital. She also holds graduate degrees in both Nursing and Psychiatric Nursing and has over a decade of experience in acute and tertiary mental health settings.
With a background that includes frontline care, simulation education, and informatics, Danda’s professional focus lies in bridging practice, research, and policy. Her work emphasizes ethical nursing care, harm reduction, and supporting the transition of new graduate nurses into complex care environments. She has led interdisciplinary education initiatives including suicide risk assessment and Code Blue simulations tailored to mental health settings.
Dr. Danda’s research and writing explore the intersections of nursing history, psychiatric care, and health equity. She has contributed to academic journals, policy documents, and practice guidelines on the use of chemical restraint, anti-racist nursing practice, and least restraint principles.
She serves on the executive of the BC History of Nursing Society and the Nurses and Nurse Practitioners of BC. Dr. Danda lives and works on the unceded territories of the Coast Salish peoples in British Columbia.
I am also a PhD Nursing student at the University of Alberta. My area of research is the history of psychiatric nurse education in BC.
