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Nursing department attracts a passionate staff |
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Thursday, 25 January 2007 |
Editor’s Note: This is the second of three articles providing an overview of Appalachian’s recently established nursing program.
by AUBREY RESECH
News Reporter
With the first semester completion of Appalachian State University’s nursing program, many challenges have arisen.
However, the departmental staff remain optimistic and dedicated to furthering the success of the program they helped build.
 Active Image | Derek DeSha | The Appalachian
Nursing
department Clinical Coordinator Phoebe Pollitt (l) and faculty member
Wendy Miller (r) help lead the new nursing program that is now in its
second semester serving Appalachian State students. |
The staff is comprised of five nurses, including a chairperson, three
professors and a clinical coordinator. Each has their own story about
what inspired them to enter the nursing profession and why they chose
Appalachian to pursue their career.
“To start a nursing program, especially here at Appalachian State
University, is a gift,” Dr. Karen S. Reesman, chairperson and associate
professor of the nursing department, said.
Reesman earned her doctorate in philosophy from the University of Tennessee, where she majored in nursing.
She has been a nurse for over 30 years and worked at East Tennessee
State University before she was hired to run the nursing program at
Appalachian.
She said she loves to interact with students and to share with them her passion for nursing.
Dr. Wendy Miller, a professor in the nursing department, teaches health assessment and nursing research.
It is very exciting and professionally challenging to be part of a new program, Miller said.
Miller is a Boone resident but received her doctor of nursing practice from Rush University in Chicago.
“For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to be a nurse,” Miller
said. “When I was in nursing school, I knew that I had made the right
decision because I saw that nurses are in a unique position to make a
difference in the lives of the patients and families they serve.”
Dr. Wanda Stutts is a resident of Mooresville, N.C., and a professor of informatics in the nursing department.
She earned her doctorate in nursing from University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill with a focus in health promotion. This is her first
semester teaching at Appalachian.
“I became a nurse because I enjoy working with people and helping them
to become empowered to meet their health needs as much as possible,”
Stutts said.
Deborah W. Cody, another nursing professor, teaches nursing care of the older adult and nursing care of communities.
She received her master’s degree from UNC-Chapel Hill and is currently thinking about returning to school for her Ph.D.
Cody is a resident of Boone and worked in New River before coming to teach at Appalachian.
“I missed [teaching] and being able to share my own philosophies of
unconditional care and concern for others with other nurses,” Cody
said.
Dr. Phoebe Pollitt is the clinical coordinator for the nursing department.
“My job is to promote, obtain and maintain practice agreements for
students and faculty in health care settings,” Pollitt said.
She received her doctorate from University of North Carolina at
Greensboro in curriculum and instruction. Pollitt also helps the
department with research, grant writing, recruitment and accreditation
activities.
She offers one piece of advice to Appalachian students.
“I would encourage all students to explore themselves and this
environment, to take advantage of this unique institution and this time
in their lives,” Pollitt said.
Overall, students seem to be receptive to the nursing staff’s teaching
techniques and also to their personal interaction with students.
“The nursing instructors are wonderful,” Mary E. Rogers, a junior
nursing major, said. “They bend over backwards to help their students,
especially with the program being so new. I believe these women will
make a success of the program.”
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