Yanci Yamileth Galdámez Hernández

Background

From a young age, I felt a calling to serve and contribute to the well-being of others, which led me to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Nursing at the Catholic University of El Salvador (UNICAES). This commitment to human and scientific development solidified in 2012 when I began teaching at the Faculty of Health Sciences at the same institution. That same year, I obtained my Certification in Pedagogical Training, which strengthened my understanding of university educational processes and marked the beginning of my specialization in early childhood education. Subsequently, I completed a Master’s degree in Comprehensive Early Childhood Care at UNICAES, where I developed my thesis in Child Development Centers. This experience sparked my interest in applied research on child neurodevelopment, early stimulation, and intrauterine stimulation. This line of work allowed me to integrate my nursing training with education, generating an interdisciplinary vision focused on maternal and child health.

The connection between my Bachelor’s degree in Nursing and my Master’s degree in Comprehensive Early Childhood Care gave me the opportunity to work with students in the maternity ward, consolidating my knowledge of childhood and adolescence. This experience motivated my decision to pursue a Doctorate in Education (PhD), with an emphasis on child neurodevelopment, under the mentorship of Dr. María Beatriz Beltrán Navarro from the University of Guadalajara, who became more than just an advisor; she became my mentor and guide. My doctoral dissertation, titled “Effect of Age, Sex of Children, and Educational Level of Mothers and Fathers on Executive Function Task Performance in Salvadoran Preschool Children,” makes a significant contribution to the study of executive functions in Latin American contexts, especially in El Salvador. Currently, I am developing my first book, titled “Early Stimulation in the First Thousand Days of Life: A Community Perspective,” a result of my growing involvement in research and scientific dissemination.

The Catholic University of El Salvador has been my alma mater and the cornerstone of my academic training, where I have actively participated in Research Conferences, both as a speaker in the Applied Nursing Research course and as an evaluator. I have also collaborated in national conferences with institutions such as the Autonomous University of Santa Ana (UNASA) and the Pedagogical University of El Salvador, strengthening academic exchange between health and education. Internationally, I distinguished myself at the International University Congress on Communication, Innovation, Research, and Teaching (CUICIID), held in Spain (2022), with the publication of book chapters. In 2025, I collaborated with the Nursing Foundation for Cooperation, Research, and Development (FUNCIDEN), presenting papers and contributing book chapters on pedagogical innovation and child health.

In 2022, I received an honorable mention from the National Council of Science and Technology (CONACYT) for the research project “Clinical Simulation in the Training of Nursing Students at the Catholic University of El Salvador,” developed in collaboration with Gerardo Barrios University (UGB). This research contributed to strengthening the academic quality and clinical practice in the training of healthcare professionals.

Among my most recent research projects are: 2020, Design of virtual simulators for nursing care practice; 2021: Early stimulation and neurodevelopment in early childhood (Research Yearbook, Vol. 8, ISSN 2227 4235 / e ISSN 2518 802X); 2022, Clinical simulation in nursing student training (DOI: 10.5377/aiunicaes.v9i0.10236); 2022, Sociodemographic variables that modulate the development of executive functions; and 2025, Bibliometric analysis of scientific production on neurodevelopment in premature infants and children with prenatal conditions: A global overview of prenatal education: a bibliometric analysis of training strategies and their impact on maternal health.