Current Courses
Spring 2025
-
NURS 3430-001
NURSAcross the Lifespan -
NURS 4150-090
Nursing Initiatives -
NURS 4150-290
Nursing Initiatives -
NURS 4650-001
Capstone Clinical
Fall 2024
Summer 2024
Professional Organizations
- Utah Nurses Association. 09/29/2024 - present. Position : Member.
- American Nurses Association. 09/29/2024 - present. Position : Member.
- Utah Nurses Foundation. 09/03/2023 - present. Position : Member.
- SigmaThetaTau, Gamma Rho. 01/01/2023 - present. Position : Secretary.
- American Association of Colleges of Nursing. 05/02/2021 - present. Position : Member.
- Western Institute of Nursing. 01/17/2020 - present. Position : Member.
- American Association of Critical Care Nurses. 04/22/2018 - present. Position : Member.
Practice History
- NICU, Bedside Nurse. College of Nursing. 08/02/2021 - present . # of Hours: 6.
Teaching Philosophy
As a faculty member at the College of Nursing, a critical component of my role involves teaching students. Since early in my nursing career, I appreciated nurses’ unique role in education. I began early to coach and prepare new nurses for the intricate challenges of critical care nursing. During this time, I appreciated the unique role education infused into nurses’ success in transition to practice. I firmly believe that the nursing profession is attainable for all people with a passion for healing and support. As an educator, I aim to create engaged nurses who can think critically through diverse patient situations and challenges. A critical strategy to develop these skills in those I teach involves active and collaborative learning, utilizing examples from clinical practice, and student engagement.
Active learning is essential for the development of new nurses. The nursing profession requires lifelong learners who take responsibility for their career progression. Active learning allows students to apply their coursework and knowledge to unique situations. One way I do this in my classrooms is to have students develop case scenarios for potential patients they might care for. The strategy allows students to integrate course knowledge and create unique understandings while exploring new content.
Collaborative learning provides a venue for students to learn essential skills for their nursing careers and develop critical thinking in situations in areas that they might not have experienced during their education. The nursing profession requires collaboration to help best meet the needs of patients and teams. Collaborative learning in my classroom involves students exploring critical components of the course objectives and assignments to allow for a deeper understanding of the concepts. For example, in an evidence-based practice project course, students plan a project to improve practice in their work setting. A portion of their grade for the plan involves providing substantive feedback for their peers’ projects. This opportunity allows students to gain ideas for their work and critically think through additional projects to provide substantive suggestions.
My work as a critical care nurse in diverse settings for over 25 years provides me with examples that help students understand critical concepts. For example, the oxyhemoglobin disassociation curve is challenging for students to understand. I have used my practice experience to share examples of how this was seen in action. This allows students to see complicated situations in a more applicable light. The clinical scenarios and experiences help solidify concept understanding in students’ minds.
Student engagement in course teaching and experiences is essential for understanding critical nursing practice components. This can be challenging to obtain with the varying educational requirements of nursing students. Communication is one way I have increased engagement in the courses I teach. I encourage students to speak up and discuss the course content. In my courses, I allow students to share their perspectives on how they selected their answers or assignment details. This will enable them to engage in the content from their work experiences and gain a more profound understanding of the curriculum.
My teaching philosophy has allowed me to train and teach students how to become the best candidates for their future careers. The strategy has allowed me to promote equity, diversity, and inclusivity and allowed for deeper connections with students. My commitment to their success has allowed me to form meaningful relationships that have helped strengthen the nursing profession and allowed significant contributions to advancing practice.