Prof. Selva Titus Chacko

Dean, College of Nursing

RN, RM, BSN, MSN, PhD (Hematology Nursing)

Professor Selva Titus Chacko graduated from Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore, South India with a BSN in 1982, Master’s in Nursing in 1992 in Medical Surgical Nursing with sub specialization in Critical Care Nursing.  Upon graduation, Dr. Chacko joined CMC, Vellore as a staff nurse and later was promoted as a Tutor in the Institution. As she was passionate in teaching young students and motivated to work in a rural area she served as Principal of a School of Nursing for four years in south of Tamil Nadu before her Post Graduation. She rejoined the faculty of CMC in 1995 as a Lecturer after her Master’s program. The organization practiced dual responsibility for faculty, and she was also the Nurse Manager for Oncology & Hematology wards. She moved up the ladder in the Faculty position from Lecturer to Professor over the years and continued to teach Undergraduate & Post Graduate students for more than 35 years.

Dr. Chacko’s interest in the area of Oncology & Hematology Nursing, led her to avail a 3-year Study leave from the Organization (1998-2001) and obtain a specialized training in Oncology & Hematology Nursing from Royal Adelaide Hospital, Adelaide in South Australia. On her return, she was instrumental in setting the State-of-the-art Bone Marrow Transplantation unit in CMC Vellore as the Head of the Nursing Department, which today is the leading BMT center in the country. She was actively involved in training students and staff in the field of Oncology & Hematology Nursing. Her passion in Hematology Nursing led her to obtain her Doctorate in Hematology Nursing from The Dr. Tamil Nadu MGR Medical University in 2014. Her Doctoral thesis was on Prevention of infection in immune compromised Hematological patients.

She also has held various administrative positions over 20 years in CMC, Vellore, as Additional Deputy Dean, Registrar, Deputy Dean and recently for the past five years since 2014- 2019 as the Dean of College of Nursing.  In her position as the Dean, she was instrumental in developing collaborations with many Universities abroad mainly from, USA, UK, Scotland and Sweden which included faculty & student exchange programs.  She brought visibility of the College through conduction of International & National conferences and workshops. She has also accommodated approximately 500 National and 50 International students every year to visit the College for a span of few days to months. Under her leadership the College of Nursing, CMC Vellore was re designated twice as the WHO Collaborating Centre for Nursing and Midwifery. She was also elected as the ‘Executive Committee member’ of the SEARO Region, Global Network of WHO Collaborating Centre for Nursing and Midwifery for a period of four years from 2016-2020. She has actively participated in collaborative studies in Cancer care of SEARO region.

She is a member of the Board of Studies of many Universities and has been examiner for Masters & Doctoral students.  Dr. Chacko served as the President of the ‘Nursing Research Society of India’ since 2016- 2020. She was the former ‘Chairman of the Nurses League’, Christian Medical Association of India which has two Boards of Nursing and has been closely involved in Curriculum planning and execution.  She is a passionate teacher and worked towards Integration of Nursing Education and Practice, mentoring students, & empowering faculty and staff in the hospital.

Areas of Interest:

• Value based Nursing Education
• Integration of Nursing Education & Practice
• Empowerment of Nursing Faculty and staff
• Evidence based Nursing Practice
• Oncology & Hematology Nursing

Selected Publications :

• Chacko ST, Walton M, Sekhar T, Binoy S. Effect of a Preceptorship Development Program among Nurses in UAE. Journal for ReAttach Therapy and Developmental Diversities. 2023; 6(1): 190 – 196. [link]
• Kristen Jones-Bonofiglio, Judie Arulappan, Annabelle Brown, Karen Cassells, Vivienne Cooper, Kathleen DiGangi Condon, Raya Gurevich-Gal, Rebelee Christy Jeyasingh, S. Ani Grace Kalaimathi, Joy R. Kezia, Sharron Leung, Selva Titus, Joyce Neumann, Miriam Carole Atieno Wagoro, Ethical Viewpoint Paper ‘We are all in this together’: Nurses and ethical issues during the COVID19 pandemic. Global Bioethics Enquiry: The Scholarly Publication of the UNESCO Chair in Bioethics; Print ISSN 2207-7715 : Online ISSN 2207-7723, Volume 8, Issue 3 December 2020, 177–181
• Sheeba.J, Chacko ST, Sekar M, George, R. Correlation between Spiritual well-being, Perceived social support and Anxiety among Palliative cancer patients.  IOSR Journal of Nursing and Health Science (IOSR-JNHS) e-ISSN: 2320–1959.p- ISSN: 2320–1940 Volume 9 (6)  Ser. IV (Nov. – Dec. 2020), PP 09-14. DOI: 10.9790/1959-0906040914.
• Rani PS, Ravindran V, Esther A, Susila IE, Charles MV, Rose A, Chacko ST, Nursing Students’ Perception and Practices related to Academic Integrity. International Journal of Nursing Education. January 2019. 11(3):51.
• Taub JM, Coats H, Coats C, Sive R, Sadan V, Alexander G, Immanuel S, Ravindran V, Chacko ST, Nolet R, Doorenbos A. Palliative care delivery: descriptions of community –based services in Vellore, India, and Seattle, Washington. International Journal of Palliative Nursing, January 2019, Volume 25,No1,pp1-7.
• Molassiotis A, Yates P, Li Q, So WK, Pongthavornkamol K, Pittayapan P, Komatsu H, Thandar M, Yi M, Chacko ST, Lopez V. Corrigendum: Mapping unmet supportive care needs, quality-of-life perceptions and current symptoms in cancer survivors across the Asia-Pacific region: Results from the International STEP Study (Annals of Oncology (2017) 28 (2552-2558. Annals of Oncology. 2019 Mar 1;30(3).
• Lucas A, Chacko ST, Gracelin L. Perception of Body Image and sexual Distress among Women with selected cancers. IOSR Journal of Nursing and Health sciences (IOSR-JNHS) e-ISSN:2320-1959p-ISSN:2320-1940 Volume 8, Issue3 Ser.IV (May-June 2019) pp 40-44.
• Chan RJ, Yates P, Li Q, Komatsu H, Lopez V, Thandar M, Chacko ST,. So WKW, Pongthavornkamol K, Yi MS, Pittayapan P, Butcon J, Wyld W, Molassiotis A. Oncology practitioners’ perspectives and practice patterns of post-treatment cancer survivorship care in the Asia-Pacific region: whose job is it anyway? Results from the STEP study. BMC Cancer Dec 2018 18(1).
• Annarani MA, Chacko ST, Lucas A, Rebekah G, Umesh SR, Ann S, Ravi V. Knowledge of Nurses Regarding Non Invasive Ventilation (NIV) Therapy. International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR) ISSN (Online): 2319-7064, May 2017: 6(5).
• Thenmozhi N, Chacko ST, Rebecca G, Mathew R. Sexual need and related stress among patients with Disability related to Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) and their spouse Journal of Dental and Medical Sciences (IOSR-JDMS), e-ISSN: 2279-0853, p-SSM: 2279-0861. May 2017: 16 (5), PP -7-10.
• Arockiaseeli Annarani, Chacko ST, Babu V, Nayak S. Effect of Chewing Gum Therapy on Selected Postoperative Outcomes in Patients Undergoing Abdominal Surgery. Indian Journal of Continuing Nursing Education, July-December 2016: 17 (2).