Dr. Comfort Obi

Associate Professor

Office: Harry S. Downs Center for Continuing Education & College of Health 214 F
School of Nursing
College of Health
comfortobi@clayton.edu
Phone: (678) 466-4986

Biography

Dr. Obi is an Associate Professor with over 40 years of nursing experience spent mostly in leadership positions in acute and non-acute care settings. Her areas of specialty include women health, critical care, community health, and management. She served on a nursing board for 10 years where she was actively involved in nursing education, licensure, and program accreditation. Before joining Clayton State University, she was a director in women and infant services at one of Atlanta's acute care hospitals. Dr. Obi teaches in both the undergraduate nursing program and the RN-BSN completion program. Her areas of research interest include women health, nursing education, advocacy, and the care of the vulnerable especially older adults, college students, and the underserved.

Education

Other, Basic/General Nursing, Ahmadu Bello University, School of Nursing, Zaria. Nigeria, 1976

BSN, Nursing, University of Ibadan, Ibadan. Nigeria, 1981

Other, Post- graduate Diploma in Secondary Education, University of Lagos, Lagos. Nigeria, 1990

MBA, Business Administration, University of Lagos, Lagos. Nigeria , 1992

MSN, Nursing Education, Clayton State University, Morrow. Georgia, 2015

DNP, Doctor of Nursing Practice, Georgia College and State University, Milledgeville. Georgia, 2017

Awards and Honors

Committment to AWHONN, AWHONN Metro-Atlanta Chapter, Honor, 2012

Excellence in Nursing. Finalist Nurse of the Year, March of Dimes, Georgia Chapter, Award, 2014

Georgia Center Nursing Excellence Leader, Georgia Center for Nursing Excellence, Honor, 2023

Help for Healthcare Professionals 2024 Award Ceremony, Help for Healthcare Professionals, Honor, 2024

Intellectual Contributions

Comfort Obi, Effectiveness of Breastfeeding Champions on Breastfeeding–Exclusive Breastfeeding, Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic & Neonatal Nursing(JOGNN)/ELSEVIER – June 2019

Victoria Foster, Comfort Obi, Lisa Smiley, Kimberly Campbell, Elicia Collins, Rebecca Morgan, Grace Nteff, Nancy Capponi, , Using Smart Phone Technology in HIV Prevention Among On-campus Residents, I-manager Journal of Nursing – November 2020

Victoria Foster, Elicia Collins, Dianne Nelson, Comfort Obi, Jennie Bergen, Rebecca Morgan, Susan Gronka, Angela L Hollis, Shereda Taylor, Crystal Marchant, Annette Crew-Gooden, Samina Damani, Martricia Turner, Examining the Perceptions of Clinical Competence of Undergraduate Nursing Students During the Era of Social Distancing, i-manager's Journal on Nursing –

Melanie Poudevigne, Comfort N Obi, Michelle Nelson, Naquilla Thomas, Tamara Thompson, What’s in Your Culture? Embracing Stability and the New Digital Age in Moving Colleges of Health Professions Virtually during the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Experiential Narrative Review, MDPI Education Sciences – February 18 2022

Jennie Bergen, Comfort Obi, Chyrel Lynn Panlilio, Cognitive stacking: A concept analysis, i-manager's Journal of Nursing – September 2024

Contracts, Grants, and Sponsored Research

Comfort Obi, Teaching and Learning Innovations Grant/Nursing Students-led Health Fair in a Clayton County Community, Clayton State Retirees Association, Clayton State University, 2000, Funded – Spring 2024 to Present

Presentations

Comfort N Obi, A STRATEGY FOR INCREASING LACTATION KNOWLEDGE OF NURSES , GANE Conference, Georgia Association of Nurse Educators(GANE) – February 20 2016

Comfort N Obi, Innovative Healthcare Approaches: Role of Mobile Solutions in Universal Health Coverage, 14th Biennial General Meeting/23rd Scientific Session, West African College of Nursing , West Africa College of Nursing Conventioneria – July 03 2017

Comfort N Obi, Effectiveness of breastfeeding champions on exclusive breastfeeding , 2017 Tenth Doctors of Nursing Practice Conference - Celebrating 10 years: Diversity & Inclusion in Practice, Doctors of Nursing Practice Inc – September 13 2017

Jennie Bergen, Chyrel Lynn Panlilio, Comfort Obi, Adapting Cognitive Stacking into Clinical Nursing Education, Georgia Association of Nurse Education, Georgia Association of Nurse Education – February 28 2025

Crystal Marchant, Rebecca Morgan, Comfort Obi, Implementation of a Cultural Immersion Program, GANE 2020 Conference , Georgia Association of Nurse Educators (GANE) – February 2020

Service to the University & University System of Georgia

Department, Course Coordinators Meeting , Committee Member – Spring 2018 to Present

Department, Faculty Development Committee, Committee Member – Fall 2017 to Spring 2020

Department, Sigma Theta Tau-Xi Rho Chapter, Committee Member – Fall 2018 to Present

Department, Task Force on White Coat Ceremony, Task Force Chair – Fall 2018 to Fall 2018

University, University Hearing Panel, Committee Member – Spring 2018 to Spring 2023

Department, Admission, Progression and Retention Committee, Committee Member – Fall 2018 to Present

College, College of Health Promotion and Tenure Committee, Committee Member – Fall 2022 to Present

University, Faculty Development Council, Committee Member – Fall 2020 to Spring 2024

Department, Systematic Evaluation Committee, Committee Member – Spring 2020 to Fall 2020

Service to the Profession

Reviewer, Conference Paper, Georgia Association of Nurse Educators, Regional, February 2019

Reviewer, Conference Paper, American Nurses Association (ANA), National, August 4 2020 , September 8 2020

Committee Member, Georgia Nursing Leadership Coalition (GNLC)- Leadership Committee, State, May 1 2015 , December 2022

Reviewer, Conference Paper, Georgia Association of Nurse Educators, Regional, February 2019

Other, Nurses Who Vaccinate, National, May 15 2018 , May 17 2018

Committee Member, Scholarship Committee- Georgia Association of Nursing Educators , State, Spring 2018 , Spring 2022

Conference-Related, West African College of Nursing , International, March 2011 , July 2017

Board of Directors of a Company, National RN-Baccalaureate Faculty Forum, National, February 20 2020 , December 2022

Committee Chair, National RN Faculty Forum Award Committee, National, Spring 2019 , December 2022

Committee Member, Sigma Region 7 NA, Regional, Spring 2022

Member, AWHONN-Association of Women Health, Obstetrics and Neonatal Nurses , February 2002

Service to the Community

Program Coordinator, Lake City Government, Local – Summer 2019 to Fall 2019

Other, Humanity Bridge Inc , International – January 18 2014 to January 31 2014

Program Organizer, Anglican Girls Grammar School, Awkunanaw-Enugu Alumni Association , National – February 2015 to Present

Board Member, Episcopal Church Women Diocese of Atlanta, Regional – Spring 2017 to Spring 2022

Guest Speaker, Anglican Girls Grammar School, Awkunanaw-Enugu Alumni Association(AGGSAAA)-USA , National – May 10 2020 to May 10 2020

Guest Speaker, Ezi Umuada Igbo, New York Chapter, New York, State – September 19 2020 to September 19 2020

Board Member, Anglican Girls Grammar School Alumnaa -USA, National – October 2022 to Present

Program Coordinator, Clayton County Community Services, Local – March 2023 to March 2023

Program Coordinator, Lake City Goverment, Local – October 2022 to October 2022

Teaching Interest

Taught 1st semester nursing students:
a) Health Promotions and Health Promotions Lab/Practicum
b) Health-Illness Transitions and Health -Illness Lab/Practicum
c) Health Assessment
These classes are fundamental core courses for nursing students so Dr. Obi guides first-year nursing students in acquiring the knowledge and competencies required to excel in their chosen career. The opportunity to teach freshmen is very rewarding, though an arduous task. Teaching freshmen creates avenue for laying solid foundation for learning, practice, and development of inquiry mind and critical thinking.

Dr. Obi also teaches:
a)3rd Semester's Developmental Transitions I which focuses on reproductive health, maternal and childcare.
b) 4th Semester's Organization Transitions (Leadership and Community Health Nursing) to final year nursing students, thus preparing them for transitions into clinical nursing roles as license nurses either in acute care settings or in the community.
c) RN-BSN completion course of Nursing Management and Leadership for RNs and Nurse Practicum. The Nursing Management and Leadership for RNs is designed for registered nurses who do not possess baccalaureate degree in nursing but want to advance their nursing career, sharpen nursing skills, and competencies, broaden the understanding of best practice, increase critical thinking, and prepare to take on more responsibilities as leaders in healthcare. The RN Practicum is solely designed to promote increased competences in areas of nursing practice, patient education (group and individual), and management.

Dr. Obi teaches Cultural Diversity in Healthcare to both nursing and non-nursing students. This course introduces would-be healthcare providers to culture-related concepts that impact behavior in healthcare and healthcare outcomes. Students are led to identify own view of health and illness and use them as basis for understanding the impact of the patient's culture on healthcare.

In addition, she teaches Interactive Communication, a course designed to help students acquire skills and attitudes needed to become effective communicators, This is important for both personal and professional development, especially for those intending to make careers in the healthcare sector.

Research Interest

Research interests are in the areas of nursing education, culturally competent care, advocacy, community health issues related to vulnerable and underserved populations, and maternal and child health. Her doctoral work titled 'Effectiveness of breastfeeding shift champions on exclusive breastfeeding', has received wide and international interests. Dr. Obi has participated in published studies focusing on HIV among college students, the effectiveness of simulation on nursing students' clinical practice during pandemics, experiential review of the shift to digital age during the pandemic, and impact of health fair on competencies of nursing students. Dr. Obi has also co-authored work on cognitive stacking in nursing education and practice, and a paper advocating for support for college students' athletes.