Dr. Sharon Eck Birmingham

Biography

Dr. Birmingham teaches in the new Doctoral of Health Sciences Program (DHSc) in the School of Public Health. She joined Campbell University among team members opening the new School of Nursing program in 2016. After seven years and teaching in the DHSc Program since its inception, she transitioned in the Fall, 2022 to teaching full time in the DHSc Program.

She is a faith-filled leader and scholar with over thirty years of contribution to patient care, nursing, and academia. She has served in roles including staff nurse, charge nurse, nurse manager, director, chief nursing officer, adjunct faculty and consultant in large academic medical centers. These included The University of Iowa, Massachusetts General Hospital, Yale New Haven Hospital, and The University of North Carolina Women’s and Children’s Hospitals and Clinics. A wide variety of professionals have reported to Dr. Birmingham through the years including nurses, child life specialists, chaplains, social workers, nurse practitioners, program administrators, clinical nurse specialists, OR techs, domestic violence staff, smoking cessation counselors, patient care assistants, bilingual outreach workers and data entry specialists.

Sharon’s primary clinical and leadership expertise have been in maternal child health in both acute and ambulatory settings with an emphasis on access to and care for underserved women and their families. She participated in the revitalization of Medicaid Funding and Services for underserved women and children in the New Haven, CT community. This statewide initiative reduced infant morbidity and mortality and increased women’s participation in prenatal care.
Sharon’s passion centers on engaging healthcare professionals to collectively transform the delivery of health care to people and their families. Dr. Birmingham’s consultation experience includes: Staffing and Scheduling, Clinical Quality and Fiscal Outcomes, Unit-based Nursing Research for Novices, Adolescent Focus Groups, and Maternal Child Health projects. At Campbell University she also teaches in the Master of Health Professions Education at the Jerry M. Wallace School of Osteopathic Medicine.

Sharon obtained her BSN and Master’s Degree from The University of Iowa and Doctoral degree from the Yale University School of Nursing with an emphasis on large data set health sciences research. Dr. Birmingham conducted her doctoral dissertation on “The Effect of Nurse Staffing on Clinical, Organizational and Financial Outcomes.” This research won the Yale School of Nursing Dissertation Prize. She is the author of numerous articles and presents the use of data in health care decision-making. She is a member of the American Nurses Association and The International Sigma Theta Tau Honor Society.

Sharon lives on the coast in Beaufort, NC and welcomes visitors!