Dr. Debra Sheets

Ph.D., MSN, RN, FCAN, FAAN, FGSA, FAGHE
UVic School of Nursing:  2009-2023

Dr. Debra Sheets joined the UVic School of Nursing  in 2009. She earned certifications in nursing education and in gerontological nursing and taught at a California State University for nearly a decade.  She completed her doctorale in Gerontology and Public Policy from the University of Southern California in 1999. Dr. Sheets is an elected fellow of the Canadian Academy of Nursing (FCAN), the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN), the Gerontological Society of America (FGSA) and the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education (FAGHE).  She served as the Victoria site lead for the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging from 2011 to 2018.  She is the founder of four community-based, intergenerational initiatives (e.g., Voices in Motion choir, Memory Cafes, Minds on the Go, and Momentia Victoria) in Victoria, BC, aimed at making the arts more accessible to persons living with dementia and their care partners. She is the host of the Call to Mind, a four-part podcast series created during the pandemic that aims to share intimate stories about the challenges and rewards of caregiving and finding joy by living in the present.  Her research has focused on caregivers, dementia and healthy aging.  She has published many articles  in national and international peer-reviewed journals.