Degrees Held:
- MSN – Rhode Island College, 2010
- BSN – Rhode Island College, 1994
Career Highlights:
- Oncology Nurse for over 20 years
- Worked as a Hospice Nurse for 3 years
- Nurse Educator for Non-Profit Cancer organization providing public education about cancer, EOL, cancer prevention/screening
Which classes do you teach online?
Nur 444: Community/Public Health Nursing Practicum
Why did you start teaching?
I love to help students learn about new topics. Public Health is an exciting and diverse area, and most students have a new appreciation for Public Health Nursing after taking this class.
What advice would you give to prospective online RN to BS in Nursing students?
Pick the nursing program that fits your career goals and lifestyle. Personal life/work/school integration is very important. When you are in school, there are more demands on your time and life can get hectic. Take time to step away and recharge, spend time with family/friends, or do an activity you enjoy.
What is the one book you think everyone should read?
The Shack by William Paul Young.
What qualities make someone particularly successful in nursing?
A passion to make a difference in the lives of patients/families. Compassion when caring for others.
Nursing is a team sport - being a team player, it takes the whole team to care for patients/families.
Resiliency - being able to adapt to a stressful environment, caring for complex patients and being able to recover "bounce back" from the daily stressors nurses face.
Sense of humor- sometimes you just need to have a good laugh
What do you think is the biggest challenge that nurses face today?
Burn out- dealing with the day in/day out stressors of health care and patient care. This is why life/work/school integration and resiliency are so important.
Tell us something interesting about yourself that your students may not know.
I have traveled to Romania many times teaching nurses about pain management and hospice care. I also visited an orphanage and taught the caregivers about early child development. Getting to know the Romanian nurses and people was a very special experience, they are warm and welcoming.