IBHE AND NURSING WORKFORCE CENTER RECOGNIZE 2021 NURSE EDUCATOR FELLOWS

Press Release - Wednesday, October 13, 2021

SPRINGFIELD - The Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE) and the Illinois Nursing Workforce Center (INWC) Advisory Board are proud to acknowledge the 2021 Nurse Educator Fellow recipients, each of whom is awarded $10,000 to help promote excellence in nursing education.

Ginger Ostro, executive director, IBHE, said, "This year's group of 16 Illinois Nurse Educator Fellows persevered despite the pandemic to pursue post-secondary excellence for themselves and their students. The list of professional development projects demonstrates how fortunate Illinois is to have nurse educators who are laser focused on improving their craft for the benefit of the next generation of nurses. We appreciate Gov. JB Pritzker's and the Illinois General Assembly's commitment to this program."

Several fellows are pursuing master's and doctorate degrees or certifications, learning new teaching techniques for student nurses, purchasing books and technology, and preparing to present research findings on the national level.

Other projects include research into psychological insulin resistance (PIR) in the Black community, professional development specifically on LGBTQ+ health, pursuit of diversity and inclusion concepts in teaching, research on improved care in long-term care environments, simulation training, the examination of the persistent underrepresentation of men in nursing, tactics to help reduce nurse burnout and turnover during high-stress periods (such as a pandemic), creating an education intervention related to college student rape, a national survey on surgical smoke, and obtaining resources to design a course to teach theater students to be standardized patients (SP).

A first-time survey of the fellows asked how the COVID-19 pandemic might alter the education of nurses. The subject was part of planned discussion as the fellows met to receive  their certificates. Comments centered on the adaptability of nursing programs and students in handling the increased use of technology, the need for immersive clinical rotations, a desire for smaller classrooms, and a goal of providing small clinical groups in the community rather than in the hospital.

The 2021 fellows are:

Alisha Betka, DNP, MSN/Ed, RN, CHSE, University of Illinois Chicago
Tamara Boll, MSN, MBA, RN-BC, Trinity Christian College
Sheri Compton-McBride, DNP, RN, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Jorgia B. Connor, PhD, RN, Loyola University of Chicago
Therese Gallagher, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, CNL, Rush University
Angela Gilbreth, MSN, RN, CLS, Southwestern Illinois College
Teresa Gulley, MSN, RNC-OB, Millikin University
Monica E. Hall, PhD, RN, Illinois Wesleyan University
Sara McPherson, PhD, RN, CNE, University of Illinois Chicago in Springfield
Salimah Muhammad, DNP, MSN/Ed, RN, Chamberlain University-Chicago
Lynnann B. Murphy, MN, RN, University of Saint Francis
Kara Richardson, MSN/Ed, RN, Heartland Community College
Cristan Sabio, PhD, MSN, RN, Northern Illinois University
Michele Shropshire, PhD, RN, Illinois State University
Lindsay A. White, MSN, RN, CNE, Western Illinois University
Cynthia D. Young, MSN, RN, Morton College