The Importance of Nursing Education in Communities

I graduated from CTX with a BSN at the mere age of 22, firm in my conviction as a Christian nurse, yet mentally and emotionally unprepared for the journey of the next eight years. Within my first three years in nursing, I gained experience at a continuing care hospital and an inpatient rehabilitation facility, which covered various acuity levels from rehab to intensive care. In 2017, I simultaneously moved from the bedside into outpatient care and started working on an MSN with an Emphasis in Public Health degree. In this setting, I worked at a geriatric primary care clinic, developing a passion for the older adult population. I discovered how much of the community was impacted by health disparities and inequities. This confirmed my area of interest in the Public Health field, where I began working for the city health department after completing my graduate degree.

Although I learned about the local community, their needs, and the plethora of resources in the Public Health setting, I also learned how ill-prepared the community was to manage their own health, and grew frustrated that I was not able to make as big of an impact as I would have hoped. An opportunity was presented to begin as an adjunct instructor for the Community and Global Health Practicum courses at CTX and I nervously accepted the offer to explore the field of nursing education. As I worked my way through the first year as an adjunct instructor, I quickly realized the gap students had between their basic nursing knowledge and recognizing how much their practice impacts the health promotion given to patients at the bedside. A lightbulb went off that maybe if students had a better understanding of how impactful their work is to influence the health of communities, then maybe a minute shift could be made in the health of populations. When a position opened up to become a full-time nursing faculty, I took the opportunity and write to you now as an Instructor of Nursing for Concordia University Texas.