Nursing Education Concept By Kimberly Adams Tufts
Who Is Kimberly Adams Tufts
Kimberly Adams Tufts earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) from The Ohio State University, followed by a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) and a Nurse Doctorate (ND) from Case Western Reserve University. She currently serves as an Associate Professor at Old Dominion University and is recognized as a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing.
Dr. Tufts has been actively involved in health care policy by teaching nursing students and influencing state-level health policies. Her research primarily focuses on HIV prevention among adolescent populations. She adopts a school-based approach that emphasizes advocacy activities crucial for promoting HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, aiming to reduce HIV transmission on a global scale. Additionally, she has international experience, having lived and worked in Zimbabwe as a Visiting Lecturer in the Department of Nursing Science at the University of Zimbabwe.
Professional Life
After completing her doctoral studies, Dr. Tufts transitioned into full-time teaching. Despite her strong background in clinical practice from her master’s and doctoral programs, she initially felt underprepared for the teaching role. To address this, she sought out courses focused on adult education, which helped her evolve from a charismatic demonstrator to a more student-centered educator. Dr. Tufts views herself as a lifelong learner who is passionate about teaching and considers it a valuable pursuit.
Interest In Teaching
Dr. Tufts developed an interest in teaching early in her life. During high school, she held an after-school job teaching reading for two hours a day, five days a week, at a church-based enrichment center. This experience made her realize her enjoyment of teaching. However, when choosing a career, she initially focused on nursing, not associating teaching with the profession. Influenced by her family’s expectations, she pursued nursing, aiming to become an excellent clinician.
Journey To Nursing Education
Her preparation for teaching was informal. While enrolled in her master’s program, she chose the clinical track and received minimal formal instruction in teaching. Observing effective teachers, she took two Professional Development courses on teaching and learning. Additionally, she served as a teaching assistant for a semester, completed her master’s in perinatal nursing, and earned a certificate to become a nurse practitioner. After practicing advanced nursing for three to four years and serving as a clinical preceptor, she formalized her teaching approach by structuring learning experiences for her students. Her structured, step-by-step teaching method made her a popular preceptor, and she was frequently invited to give guest lectures on women’s health and community health principles.
She also contributed to developing a prenatal community outreach curriculum for a federal grant, which was highly successful. About fifteen years ago, after two years out of graduate school, she returned for doctoral studies and decided to pursue full-time teaching in 1996, despite feeling initially unprepared. To build her teaching skills, she attended the University Center for Innovation in Teaching and Education (UCITE) for two years, where she learned about adult learning theories, particularly the work of Malcolm Knowles. This education helped her understand the importance of tailoring teaching methods to adult learners.
Training for Teaching
Most of Dr. Tufts’ mentoring was informal. She attended and observed courses taught by others, gaining insights into effective teaching techniques. When she began teaching policy, she shadowed a doctoral program instructor to learn successful methods. Informal tips from deans, such as questioning the length of examinations, helped her refine her teaching practices. As a graduate assistant for Dr. Wilma Phipps, she often found herself engrossed in reading teaching-learning materials instead of performing administrative tasks.
Development as a Teacher
Dr. Tufts transitioned from being a “charismatic demonstrator” to a more effective teacher after attending UCITE’s spring celebration, where educational theorists emphasized the difference between demonstrating expertise and truly teaching students. Inspired by this, she began to study constructive teaching principles and developed a comprehensive teaching repertoire. Her goal is to ensure that students learn fundamental principles that can be applied in various situations. From the first contact with students, whether online or in-person, she emphasizes the value each student brings, fostering an inclusive and engaging learning environment. For example, in a large doctoral seminar, she spent hours on introductions to integrate course principles into discussions, helping students quickly engage with the material.
Comfort As a Teacher
Dr. Tufts felt comfortable in her teaching roles after about three years, following her formal education at UCITE. This comfort developed after she completed dedicated training and gained practical experience.
Challenges
One of Dr. Tufts’ main challenges has been dealing with colleagues who resist changes in nursing education. These individuals prefer traditional methods and are hesitant to adopt new, research-based practices, which hampers the implementation of innovative teaching strategies. She finds this rigidity frustrating as it limits the educational experience and student growth.
Another significant challenge is the generational shift in the student population. Dr. Tufts observes that modern students often have a customer-oriented mindset, expecting education to be tailored to their preferences. This “entitlement” stereotype creates a disconnect between her teaching philosophy and student expectations, making it difficult to engage students who view the classroom as a transactional environment rather than a collaborative learning space.
Additionally, she faces difficulties with disengaged students who are pursuing degrees without a genuine commitment to learning. Motivating these students and bridging the gap between their academic goals and their actual engagement in the learning process remains a persistent challenge. Nevertheless, Dr. Tufts remains optimistic, believing that collaborative efforts with colleagues can help overcome these obstacles.
Embarrassing Moments
Early in her teaching career, Dr. Tufts experienced an embarrassing moment while teaching a large women’s health class. A student repeatedly asked questions that Dr. Tufts perceived as overly concrete and not particularly insightful. Using her “charismatic demonstration” approach, she responded with expert answers, inadvertently conveying to the student that their questions were unworthy. Reflecting on this, she realized her responses were demeaning and decided to address it directly. In front of her 28 students, she apologized to the student, acknowledging that her teaching style had been inappropriate and emphasized the importance of providing all students with opportunities to develop and learn. This experience made her a better teacher, fostering a more respectful and inclusive classroom environment.
Rewarding Aspects
In recent years, Dr. Tufts has found her work particularly rewarding as she teaches subject matter that benefits from a principle-based approach. She teaches doctoral students and an interdisciplinary course that includes law students, both of whom are highly motivated and eager to learn. These self-selected students, often new to the subject, allow her to witness significant growth and development, which she finds fulfilling. Teaching motivated students who want to learn and see their progress brings her immense satisfaction.
Least Rewarding Aspects
Dr. Tufts found the least rewarding period when she was responsible for teaching women’s health to three different types of students. Advanced practice students and beginning undergraduates were highly anxious and focused on minute details about diagnoses, tests, and medications. Her teaching philosophy, which emphasizes broader principles over detailed specifics, conflicted with the students’ needs. This caused her anxiety as their focus on details did not align with her approach, though she eventually relaxed after a year or two. She anticipates upcoming challenges as she transitions to teaching subjects she hasn’t taught before, particularly in distance education, which will require her to learn new delivery methods.
Gaining Excellence as a Teacher
Dr. Tufts maintains excellence by continuously learning about teaching and learning theories, staying updated with current knowledge, and learning from her students. She views teaching as a dynamic, lifelong learning process. Recently, she completed a certificate in distance education by taking four computer-based courses, demonstrating her commitment to adapting to new teaching methods.
Words for New Teachers
Dr. Kimberly Adams Tufts advises new teachers to view the teacher-learner relationship as a partnership. She emphasizes that new educators should not be expected to know everything about their subject matter or teaching methods. Instead, they should invest in formal learning about teaching, whether through courses, online resources, or mentorship. She passionately encourages embracing teaching as a valuable endeavor, highlighting the importance of collaboration, continuous learning, and viewing teaching as a meaningful and impactful profession.