.jpg "Julia G. Catanese, MSN, RN, CNOR, CHSE photo")
PhD Candidate, Graduate School of Nursing
Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, United States Army
Major Julia Catanese is as a PhD candidate in Nursing Science at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS), Graduate School of Nursing, Class of 2026 and an active-duty Army nurse. MAJ Catanese, from Sandy, Oregon, commissioned into the Army Nurse Corps in 2012 as a Distinguished Military Graduate from the University of Portland ROTC program. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Portland, a Master of Science in Nursing from Grand Canyon University, and multiple raduate certificates in Healthcare Modeling and Simulation and Healthcare Professions Education. She is a Certified Perioperative Nurse (CNOR) and Healthcare Simulation Educator (CHSE) and an active member of the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN), the International Nursing Association for Clinical Simulation and Learning (INASCL), Sigma Theta Tau, the Society of Federal Health Professionals (AMSUS), the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), and the Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxiliary.
MAJ Catanese is developing a research portfolio focused on simulation-based education, perioperative team competency, and military surgical readiness. Her dissertation, funded by a $15,000 TriService Nursing Research Program award is now underway at the USUHS, evaluating the validity, reliability, and usability of computer-based simulation for scrub role training. She has also produced a systematic review on computer-based interventions for the scrub role (forthcoming), contributed to combat casualty care research with the Val G. Hemming Simulation Center, and is the senior editor and first author of an upcoming Army Medical Center of Excellence Borden Institute textbook on damage control surgery. Her work exemplifies a commitment to advancing evidence-based, scalable training solutions to ensure perioperative teams remain highly competent and combat-ready.