Joann Sands, DNP, RN, ANP-BC

Clinical Associate Professor

Joann Sands.

ADDRESS:
 School of Nursing
University at Buffalo
219 Wende Hall
Buffalo, NY 14214-3079

PHONE: 716-829-2342

EMAIL: jsnyder2@buffalo.edu

I’ve been a volunteer firefighter/EMT for the last 12 years. I had the opportunity to go on a deployment with the fire department after Hurricane Irene. I also was able to take several nursing students on a deployment to Schoharie County after Hurricane Sandy.

Joann Sands is a clinical associate professor at the University at Buffalo School of Nursing, where she specializes in disaster and emergency response management. She is a board-certified adult nurse practitioner with more than 17 years of clinical experience and has been a member of the UB School of Nursing faculty since 2010.

Sands’ academic and professional interests include disaster preparedness and response, post-disaster resiliency, disaster epidemiology, emergency management and global health. To further advance her expertise in these areas, she earned a master’s degree in disaster preparedness and emergency management from Arkansas State University. She remains actively engaged in practice as a volunteer firefighter and EMT and collaborates with her local town’s Office of Emergency Management.

An advocate for experiential and immersive learning, Sands’ teaching philosophy is firmly grounded in experiential learning theory. She emphasizes hands-on, real-world application and reflective practices to bridge theory and practice, an approach particularly critical in nursing education, where adaptability, teamwork and sound clinical judgement are essential. Her courses and learning activities incorporate clinical simulations, disaster triage exercises, case-based learning, global health experiences and community-based disaster preparedness initiatives.

Sands has led and participated in numerous high-impact educational initiatives, including medical mission trips to Belize, Remote Area Medical (RAM) clinics in collaboration with UB dental students, disaster activities embedded in community public health nursing courses, and participation in the Consortium for Humanitarian Service and Education (CHSE). Through CHSE, she supports interdisciplinary disaster and humanitarian field exercises such as New York Hope, Missouri Hope and Atlantic Hope, providing nursing students with realistic exposure to simulated large-scale disaster response operations.

One of her most innovative initiatives was co-leading an interdisciplinary disaster training day in partnership with the Multicultural Nursing Student Association. This full-day event brought together nursing students, firefighters, EMTs and flight nurses for didactic sessions, tabletop triage exercises and a hands-on mass casualty simulation, followed by a structured debriefing to reinforce teamwork, critical thinking and adaptive decision-making.

Sands has also participated in the University at Buffalo’s full-scale active shooter and explosive device drills, collaborating with multiple university departments, local police and fire agencies, the FBI and other emergency response partners. Recognized as a subject matter expert in disaster preparedness and response, she has been invited to guest lecture on topics such as shock, trauma, burns and disaster response, and has participated in regional media interviews and university-wide preparedness initiatives. She recently developed a new elective course, Disaster and Emergency Management, to expand disaster education opportunities for nursing students.

Her scholarship includes co-authoring a peer-reviewed article in the Journal of the American Nurses Association examining interprofessional learning outcomes through the RAM program, as well as contributing to a HRSA-funded grant (REACHvr) that utilizes virtual reality to enhance rural nursing education and workforce preparedness.

Sands is deeply committed to mentorship and professional development. She supports undergraduate nursing students through regular mentoring communications focused on NCLEX preparation, test-taking strategies, self-care and professional engagement, and she mentors junior faculty in curriculum design, teaching strategies, assessment and student engagement.

Through innovative teaching, interprofessional collaboration, ongoing clinical practice and a strong commitment to disaster preparedness education, Sands seeks to prepare nurses who are resilient, adaptable and equipped to meet the evolving demands of health care in both routine and crisis settings.

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