Joyce J Fitzpatrick Journey From a Nurse to an Educator

The
Early Years Initial Interest In Teaching

    As
an undergraduate student in the School of Nursing at Georgetown University, She  decided to dedicate my future work to improving nursing education. One of the
primary reasons was the fact that She admired the faculty who taught in the
School of Nursing, for their dedication to what they were doing. They were
committed to developing nursing as a profession and encouraged us as
undergraduates to pursue graduate study in nursing.

    There was a high energy
level among the faculty and a major emphasis on advanced education. At the same
time, She felt that there was great potential for growth within the discipline of
nursing. She did not believe that She was as intellectually challenged as She should
have been as an undergraduate student at a major university. 

    She viewed my colleagues
in other disciplines as having more scholarly debates, more intellectual
discussions about broad social and political issues, compared to those of us
studying in the School of Nursing. She was disappointed that so much of the focus
of nursing education was on memorization and recall, and too little was on
challenging existing knowledge. 

    She vowed to make a difference in nursing
education nationally (for at that time there was little focus on global health
or nursing) and made a commitment to obtain the highest level of education
possible in nursing. She knew then that She would become a teacher and a leader in
academic nursing.

Formal
And Informal Influences: Education And Mentors

    Immediately
following graduation from Georgetown, She entered a master’s degree program in
nursing, and pursued a clinical focus in psychiatric mental health nursing with
a minor focus on nursing education. 

    She had a significant introduction to
educational philosophies during this graduate program, and was introduced to
the current issues and debates in nursing education nationally, including the
entry level debate; the disciplinary content focus on care, cure, or
coordination; and the relationships between generalist and specialist
preparation for the discipline. 

    She loved the opportunity for intellectual debate
afforded by graduate education in nursing, and longed for more. While I took a
5-year hiatus from my own academic studies in order to practice as a public
health and community mental health nurse, She maintained academic ties to the University. 

    She participated as a clinical faculty member supervising students in the
graduate program in psychiatric mental health nursing, took some courses as a
part-time student, and always “hung around” with nurses from the University. She found colleagues among the nurses who were on the faculty. 

    She knew then that She needed to pursue doctoral education in nursing. Before doing so, She explored the
programs around the country. She chose to pursue the PhD in nursing at New York
University as She believed that it was the most academically challenging program
at the time. 

    It was everything She expected it to be academic discourse, cutting
edge science and research, interesting and challenging academic role models,
and, importantly for me, intellectually challenging on a personal level. She learned the academic role as scholar and teaching through observing others and
having the opportunity to practice as a junior faculty member.

Mentor

    She have had many mentors throughout my academic career. One of my first mentors
continues as a mentor today. Grayce Sills was on the faculty at Ohio State
University School of Nursing when She was a master’s prepared community mental
health nurse practicing in Columbus Ohio. She took me under her wing and
provided guidance to me in both my academic and professional nursing
development. 

    Grayce took me to my first professional association meeting and She have been a professional association “junkie” ever since. She introduced me to
the politics of professional nursing, as she had been guided by Hildegard
Peplau, one of the masters of professional organization politics. 

    When it came
time to choose a doctoral program in nursing, it was Grayce who steered me to
NYU and Martha Rogers, suggesting that I would resonate with the advanced and
radical thought emanating from NYU. She was never sorry that She followed that
advice. My second set of mentors were found at NYU; both Martha Rogers and
Florence Downs guided me in different ways and different directions. 

    Martha
stretched my conceptual and professional thinking, pushing the boundaries of
the discipline intellectually and practically. She was always amazed at the
integrity that she displayed in all that she did. Florence served as my
researcher and introduced me to the rigors of research so important in advise scientific
nursing both then and now. 

    My third set of professional mentors were introduced
to me in my first academic position following my doctoral degree. She assumed a
position of leadership in theory and research in academic nursing and sought
out the mentorship of Harriet Werley , who at that time, in my mind, was the
founder of nursing research in the US As a new faculty member She introduced
myself to Harriet and told her that She wanted to know everything that she knew
about nursing research. 

    She took me under her wing as a coeditor in the design
and launch of the Annual Review of Nursing Research series (now in its 22nd
volume), with the understanding that She would assume leadership for the series
within a 5-year period. Unlike my other mentors, Harriet’s training had been in
the discipline of psychology, which had a rich history of academic development
in research, teaching, and clinical practice. This mentorship provided
grounding for me in the inclusion of all of these components.

Enhanced
Development Of My Teaching And Leadership Skills

    Timing
is everything, and the timing of my introduction to academic nursing at the
doctoral level was critical to my own development as a teacher. Immediately
after completing my PhD in nursing I accepted a faculty position in a school of
nursing that had just developed a doctoral program in nursing. She was asked to
teach the first course, the introduction to nursing theory and research. In the
first course, She had 5 doctoral students and 5 faculty members as students. 

    One of
the faculty members was a full professor in the school of nursing, and She learned very early that I had expertise that was different and important to the
discipline of nursing. She learned to believe in my own expertise. Because She was
the only faculty member with a doctoral degree in nursing, She learned quickly to
clarify the need for development of graduate education (particularly doctoral
education) within the discipline to develop our science, rather than to borrow
all of our knowledge from other disciplines . 

    My teaching was refined because
it was challenged; this undoubtedly influenced my evolution as a teacher. I
have always felt a high level of comfort as a teacher. In fact, She am more
comfortable each year. The more experience She have as a teacher, the better She am
as a teacher. This degree of comfort is not always translated into formal
presentations. She still experience a degree of discomfort whenever doing a
formal presentation. I’m not sure why this is the case.

Challenges
And Rewards

    One
of my challenges as a teacher is no doubt the challenge of many of my
colleagues. That is the difficulty inherent in balancing all that we have to do
as leaders in academic nursing: teaching, writing, researching, and advising
students at all levels. Every day requires a juggling of priorities, in which
the decision that is made often is based on the greatest good for the greatest
number of persons. 

    Yet, on a day-to-day level, sometimes these decisions are
not as clear-cut as they appear. Another challenge is the realization that
there is no “down time” as an academic leader. years later will quote your
communication to them. She learned early in my academic career that there is no
such thing as casual conversation. One of the most rewarding aspects of
teaching is to see the success of one’s students. 

    She have had hundreds of
successful students over the course of my many years of teaching. Many of these
students are in key positions of leadership in nursing throughout the world. She chose nursing education as an area of focus because She believed that the ripple
effect was so important. 

    She can influence the health of so many more people by
influencing the high level education of many nurses. Teaching future teachers
of nurses and preparing future leaders in nursing is very rewarding to me. One
of my concerns over my years as a teacher has been the parochial views within
the ranks of nurses themselves. 

    We have the potential to determine our own
destiny, but often do not exercise the potential. The lack of intellectual
discourse, challenges to the system, and acceptance of the status quo are
frustrating to me. She wish nurse faculty members were more likely to be risk
takers, asking questions that are visionary and future oriented rather than
continuing the present state of learning .

Continuing
Growth For Self And Others

    She try to learn something new every day, by reading, by listening to experts from
outside and inside of nursing and health care. She have always believed that the
more exposure to information the better. She was  an avid consumer of all that is
available on the Internet. She try to learn from information that is available in
a range of sources. 

    The amount of health care information available to all of
us is overwhelming; it is difficult to discern what information is most critical.
But the more you know the easier it is to discern the value of information. She also try to network with as many people as possible, on the local, national,
and global level. She keep a wide range of contacts, particularly within nursing
circles. 

    She spend a lot of time communicating with other nurses and other health
care professionals who have expertise that She do not have. My advice to new
teachers is to continue to learn by trying new methods and techniques of
teaching, and do not be afraid to challenge the system. Make certain that you
are an avid learner and that you surround yourself with those who can stretch
your own development.