Lois Hamilton is both an associate dean at Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing, and a counselor at the PH Connection in Peoria.
Hamilton received her bachelor’s of science degree in nursing from Southern Illinois University in 1963; a master’s of science degree in nursing from Washington University in St. Louis Mo., in 1968; and her doctors of philosophy in education from the University of Illinois in 1993.
She began her career in nursing as a staff nurse at Providence Hospital in Mobile, Ala., in 1963, and then went on to be a staff nurse and educator at the Galesburg Research State Hospital until 1967. From 1967 until the present, she has focused her career upon the education of other nurses, and has been an instructor at the Methodist Hospital School of Nursing, the Galesburg Cottage Hospital School of Nursing, Bradley University, Illinois Central College, and the University of Illinois through 1998.
In 1992 she accepted a position as associate dean of allied health and nursing at Richland Community College, and then became dean at Richland in 1996, and joined OSF as associate dean in 1997.
As a counselor at the PH Connection, Hamilton conducts group sessions and individual counseling sessions.
Tell us about your background, family, upbringing, and education, etc.
I was born in Selma, Ala. When I was very young, my family moved from rural Selma to Prichard, a suburb of Mobile, where my father found a factory job. My father died 10 years later. From that time on, I grew up in Prichard living in a single parent home with my mother, brother, and sister. Those were very hard days for my mother, who went from a stay-at-home mom to a working mom taking care of three children. As the oldest child, I became her helper. I did the household chores and babysat my brother and sister.
By the age of 10, I could cook simple meals, do the housecleaning, and wash the family laundry. We did not have a washing machine—I used a scrub board, which required you to rub the wet clothes on the scrub board until they were clean. That was very hard, messy work. My family often teases me by saying "I have never been a child because I began working at such a young age.
By age 14, I had a part-time job. I learned a lot from those experiences. I believe the seeds of responsibility, initiative, motivation, planning, discipline, perseverance, and resilience were planted as I lived through that time in my life. I became convinced that education was the key to making my life and my family life better financially.
We were surrounded by extended family. My maternal grandparents, along with three aunts, moved from Selma to Prichard to assist my Mom with childcare when I was in school. I have fond memories of family gatherings at my grandparents’ home. With no television, we were our own entertainment.
As the first person in my family to go to college, I left my hometown to attend Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. What culture shock! I changed from an all African-American school in the deep South to a big, 99.9 percent white university in the North. It was a good thing I love to study because I had a lot of catching up to do academically because of the inferior high school education I received. For example, we had no chemistry or biology labs. I had excellent teachers in high school, particularly my English, math and science teachers, and they taught us the content, but we had few resources to enhance the learning. The transition was hard. However, while attending SIU, I lived with my aunt, so I had a good support system to help me with the transition.
I always wanted to be a nurse, but can’t think of any one experience that made me want to be a nurse. I began to read about nursing as a sophomore in high school, and I didn’t research any other career. Those were the years when teaching and nursing were the common career choices for females. I think I made a good choice—nursing has been a very rewarding profession.
My biggest challenge during my first semester at SIU was to find the finances to complete my education. I only had enough money for my first semester. With the help of a friend and the nursing department chairperson, by the end of Summer, I had a part-time job and a one-year institutional scholarship that covered my freshmen year. During that year, I received an Illinois Employment Support Grant, which paid my tuition, books, and a stipend in exchange for working three years in an Illinois mental health facility after graduation. This experience taught me not to wait to have everything in place before pursuing your goal. Sometimes you have to make the first steps with faith that things will fall into place.
My next educational step was to work toward a master’s degree. Four years after receiving my bachelor’s degree, I began graduate study at Washington University in St. Louis. During those years, I realized I could very easily become a professional student. I love to study, think, and organize new ideas. However, reality says work is necessary. Teaching allowed me to continue to do those things.
After completing my master’s, I taught in several nursing programs before returning to school to get my doctorate. While working at Illinois Central College, the University of Illinois brought a doctoral extension program to the ICC campus. I enrolled as a part-time student and continued to work full-time. By this time, I was married and had two children. With the additional responsibilities, school was not as easy as it was in my earlier, single days.
Balancing a full-time job, school, and my children was quite a challenge. The hardest times were the days when I had to be at the hospital at 6:45 a.m. With the help of my husband and sister, we made it through those times. One advantage of going to school at that time was that my children were so accustomed to seeing me study that they thought studying was the natural thing to do. I had no trouble getting them to do their schoolwork. My kids and I spent lot of time together doing our homework.
In 1993, I completed my doctorate of philosophy in education. My daughter went with me to deposit my dissertation. I thought that was great. By this time, she was a freshman at Millikin University. Maybe one day I will go with her to deposit her dissertation.
It is very hard for me to talk about my upbringing or my education without talking about the role God played in my life. Our family attended church weekly. I was taught to believe in God and Jesus, to have a personal relationship with Him, and to live my life based on Biblical principles. Those beliefs get stronger as I get older. I am also thankful for the support and help from my family.
Describe your career path from your beginnings as a staff nurse in Alabama to your current position at the College of Nursing.
After graduating from SIU, I worked as a staff nurse for six months in my hometown before returning to fulfill my work obligation to the State of Illinois at Galesburg State Research Hospital. While working there, I accepted a position to teach nursing students their psychiatric nursing training. I enjoyed the experience. At the end of three years in that position, I began my master’s study at Washington University in St. Louis.
After I received my master’s, I accepted a teaching position at Methodist Hospital School of Nursing. This was the time in the history of the care of mentally ill patients when Illinois state hospitals were closing. This impacted schools of nursing in that they had to find an alternative way for their students to learn how to care for mentally ill patients. At that time, state hospitals were the primary sites for providing psychiatric nursing educational experiences.
I was hired by Methodist to develop and implement a psychiatric nursing course with the clinical experiences on the mental health unit. After two years, the course was implemented and running smoothly. Cottage Hospital in Galesburg asked me to develop and implement a similar psychiatric nursing course for their program. I accepted this position with an agreement with Cottage Hospital that I would work for one year—because of my plan to be a part of a new baccalaureate program being planned at Bradley University. In one year, the task was completed and I returned to Peoria to accept a challenging position at Bradley to develop and implement the sophomore nursing courses in the new nursing program. I enjoyed this experience; however, a new educational system was coming on the scene in Illinois—community colleges. I had a friend teaching in a community college, and with her strong recommendation and encouragement, I sought a position at ICC. After the first nursing class graduated from Bradley, I took a teaching position at Illinois Central College, where I stayed for 18 years.
After completing course work for my Ph.D., I took a position as associate dean at Richland Community College in Decatur. I was asked to develop and implement an Associate Degree Nursing (ADN) program and open an Allied Health and Nursing department. This was my first administrative position. It was exhilarating, energizing, and fun. I had a chance to implement a new ADN program using many of the things I learned about nursing, nursing education, and health care.
In five years, the nursing program had graduated two classes and received accreditation from the National League for Nursing. Richland also had a new Allied Health Department with four health programs. I completed my dissertation and received my Ph.D. while at Richland.
During my time there, my family lived in Peoria. I lived in Decatur during the week and came home weekends. We were a commuter family and it worked for us. We found ourselves frequently explaining our living arrangements. My family was great. They knew how much the job meant to me, and were fully supportive. It was a wonderful experience. However, after five years, I was ready to stop the traveling. When I heard about the opening for an associate dean position at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing, I applied for the position.
I’m in my fourth year at the College of Nursing. Coming from a community college and university background, where there are multiple departments and disciplines, I had a lot to learn about single purpose, specialized colleges. I appreciate the opportunity to participate in the growth of the College, which includes the development of a master’s program and the beginning of distance education.
What made you transition from working as a nurse to becoming an educator? What are the differences? Are you more effective as an educator since you worked as a nurse first? How so?
My transition to an educator was not a planned change. Galesburg Research Hospital contracted to take nursing students from a variety of nursing programs to provide the psychiatric nursing experience. There was a need for a clinical instructor with a bachelor of science in nursing (BSN). I was the only person with a BSN at that time, and accepted the position. I enjoyed interacting with the students, teaching them communication and relationship skills, and challenging them to reach their potential as nurses. I love the studying and research involved in preparing to teach. Teaching also allowed me to be at the bedside doing patient care and assisting students with patient care. It allowed me to remain current in nursing knowledge and skills. For those reasons, I remained an educator for more than 25 years.
The obvious difference between the educator and nurse roles is that the nurse in the clinical setting either gives or manages direct care to patients. The educator is teaching and supervising nursing students while they are giving direct care to patients.
The nurse educator is in the clinical site working with both patients and the nursing students, thus continuing to gain clinical experience. In addition to the clinical teaching, the educator provides classroom instruction. Both the nurse in clinical practice and the nurse educator must be knowledgeable about nursing, and possess technical and decision-making skills. The qualification for the educator is different from the nurse in practice. The educator has to be an RN with a master of science degree in nursing.
I definitely think my experience as a nurse helped me be a better educator. I had patient experiences to use as examples in my teaching. I continued to accumulate patient examples as I worked in the clinical sites with students.
Having the reality of patient care in my background helped me stay grounded as I learned new theories and ideas. It helped me avoid the idealistic "ivory tower" mentality that is sometimes attributed to educators.
How have nursing programs changed over the years? What are the student expectations?
Over the years, the educational path to a nursing career has changed from being predominately diploma programs to associate degree in nursing (ADN) and bachelor of science (BSN) programs. The professional leadership decided nursing education should be based in institutions of higher learning. The diploma programs, based in hospitals, began to either close or change to ADN or BSN programs. This change in direction for nursing education began the decline in diploma programs. They went from being the major supplier of nurses to preparing a very small fraction of nurses.
When I began college, there were two baccalaureate-nursing programs in Illinois, and more than 50 diploma programs. Now there is only one diploma program left in Illinois. In the early 1960s, the ADN program, based in community colleges, entered the nursing education arena. All three programs prepare graduates to take the National Council Licensure Examination to become registered nurses, and then to work in entry or beginning level positions in nursing.
All three programs prepare bedside nurses to provide direct care to patients and their families. The difference is that the ADN program prepares bedside, technical nurses. The BSN program also prepares nurses with the technical skills to care for patients at the bedside. In addition, the BSN program includes behavioral and social science courses, and emphasizes independent clinical decision-making, health promotion, and cost-effective coordinated care. The BSN also qualifies nurses for graduate school to prepare for advanced practice and management roles.
Another change in nursing programs—which is an outgrowth of the change the health care delivery system—is the focus on providing community-based educational experiences. In the past, most clinical experiences took place in hospitals. Now, nursing students receive experiences in homes, shelters, YWCAs, The Salvation Army, half-way houses, community clinics, community social agencies, and many others. These are excellent places to teach health promotion; learn about social, psychological, and health needs; and to identify solutions that are realistic, culturally sensitive and cost effective. Nursing programs also place a greater emphasis on meeting the cultural needs of patients by understanding the culture and coordinating the care of patients to agree with the patient’s culture.
Nursing programs, like other educational institutions and businesses, are focusing on outcomes. Currently, nursing programs are required to have outcomes and competencies students must have upon graduation. The program outcomes are: graduates must have critical thinking skills, the capacity for therapeutic nursing interventions, and interpersonal and communication skills. They are also expected to successfully pass the licensure examination, and find employment.
Nursing programs have multiple-methods to test, evaluate, and measure to what extent students accomplished the competencies and outcomes. This approach makes nursing programs accountable to their graduates, health care employers and consumers by providing data to verify the graduates have met the program outcomes.
Students expect nursing programs to provide hands-on experiences as well as current, accurate classroom instruction. Students select Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing because of the wide variety of clinical experiences at the hospital and the reputation of the College of Nursing.
Students also expect knowledgeable faculty to guide their learning experiences and teach them technical, communication, and decision-making skills. I also think the faculty-student relationships are important to students. They want faculty to care about them as individuals by respecting them as adults. They also want faculty to be available to discuss patient care and nursing issues, the students’ learning needs, and other issues impacting the students’ education. They expect to pass National Council Licensure Examination, become an RN, and be able to function as a nurse.
Another change is the increase in number of nurses seeking master’s and doctorate degrees. Advanced education facilitates career mobility and enhances professional satisfaction. Nurses with master’s degrees typically are managers, administrators, and educators. A new category of masters-prepared nurses is the nurse practitioner, also called advanced practice nurses. They are prepared to provide primary care in collaboration with a physician.
Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing will admit the first students to its new Masters of Science in Nursing (MSN) program in August. The program is 45 semester hours with a major in medical-surgical nursing. Upon completion of the program, the graduates may take a certification examination to become a clinical nurse specialist. Students may select from two educational options—clinician or educator. As a clinician, the graduates of the program will be prepared to provide specialized care to patients; design, implement, and evaluate new health programs in the areas of health promotion and illness care; and become managers and administrators with enhanced skills in finance and leadership. The educator option prepares the graduate to teach in a nursing program.
Give us a brief history of the Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing—how many students have passed through the doors since its inception; its place in the local medical community; how many nurses do you graduate each year; etc.
Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing is a private, Catholic, upper division baccalaureate nursing college. It began in 1905 as a diploma-nursing program developed by The Sisters of the Third Order of Saint Francis. In its beginning it was called Saint Francis Hospital School of Nursing and was organized for preparing The Sisters to become nurses. It opened to lay students in 1915. During its history, the diploma program graduated 3,400 students. In 1985, the College of Nursing was established to offer a BSN degree. The first class graduated from the College with BSN degrees in 1988. Since that time, there have been 716 BSN graduates. Many of the graduates are employees of OSF Saint Francis Medical Center, with some working in other Peoria health facilities.
The College enjoys the position of being a highly respected nursing program. It is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools and the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission. The College is located on the campus of OSF Saint Francis Medical Center. As a renowned teaching institution, the Medical Center offers the students a wide variety of clinical experiences that focus on the delivery of quality, cost effective health care. The College is one of the four nursing programs in Peoria.
As a higher division-nursing program, the mission of the College is to provide nursing education programs at the undergraduate and graduate level. The basic baccalaureate program is a four-year program. The first two years are completed at a college or university of the student’s choice. The last two years consist of nursing courses and clinical experiences at the College. Registered nurses who do not have a bachelor’s degree may attend the College as either full-time or part-time students. We are also expanding our BSN program to RNs in Galesburg, Oglesby, and Ottawa through video conferencing. Students in those locations will have access to the courses offered on our campus without having to travel to Peoria. We have plans to begin Internet courses in the near future, and are very excited about these new opportunities.
How has the role of the nurse in health care delivery changed over the last 25 years? How do you see it in the next decade?
Nurses continue to perform the traditional roles of a patient care provider, patient advocate, counselor, coordinator, collaborator, consultant, change agent, manager of care, and educator. The change has been that they perform those roles in a wider range of agencies.
The change in the health care environment increased the job possibilities for nurses. I think that when people think of a nurse, they usually think of nurses in the hospital or the doctor’s office. Registered nurses (RN) work in clinics, surgery centers, rehabilitation centers, home health agencies, health departments, insurance companies, colleges, universities and some are in private practice.
The focus of health care has changed from an illness care to health promotion. The health care environment has changed from multiple health care agencies to integrated health care systems. The primary purposes of both these changes were to reduce cost and increase access to health care. As managed care evolved, nurses have new roles as case managers and utilization and quality managers. In the utilization review role, nurses evaluate the necessity for, and the appropriateness of, patient treatment options. Using nationally accepted standards of care, the nurse matches the patient’s treatment plan with the standards of care. The purpose is to ensure quality care and decrease the overall cost of health care, which is a national concern.
In the role of quality managers, nurses develop programs that support health promotion and disease management. They evaluate existing programs to improve the quality of health care. The nurse case managers serve patients by following them through the continuum of care with the goal of making sure patients get the appropriate care, and in so doing, reduce the cost and fragmentation of health care.
Another important change that evolved from the cost and quality care emphases of integrated care is the measurement of outcomes. Some of the expected patient outcomes are shorter hospital stays, fewer complications, knowledge about health promotion activities, and compliance with treatment plan. Nurses monitor and make independent decisions about the patient care activities responsible for ensuring outcomes are met. Nurses with a broad knowledge base and experience must make these important decisions. The response to this change for the future is for health care organizations to employ higher number of RNs with the education and experience to ensure patient care and cost outcomes are met.
The role of advanced practice nurses—nurse practitioners—is growing in response to managed care. The nurse practitioners have master of science degrees in nursing and are prepared to identify and manage health care problems and refer specialized problems to the appropriate medical resource. In some states advanced practice nurses can function autonomously. Locally, most nurse practitioners work in conjunction with physicians.
We know people are living longer. It is expected that as the baby boomers age, there will be an even greater need for nurses. There is going to be great need for advanced practice nurses, especially those with expertise in geriatric care. In the future, I think nurses will continue to function in the traditional roles. They will continue the case management role and the leadership in establishing nursing practice standards, develop quality assurance procedures, and direct complex nursing care systems.
What is the root cause of the nursing shortage across the nation? What’s the solution?
It is difficult to identify a single cause for the current nursing shortage because the factors surrounding the shortage are complex. However, from a supply/demand economic equation, I think the shortage is driven from the supply side of the equation. The supply of nurses is decreasing due to an aging workforce and declining student enrollment in basic RN programs. The average age of a nurse in 1996 was 44, up from 40 in 1980. This means that in a few years there will be a massive reduction in the nurse workforce without a supply of younger nurses to replace them. Since 1996, enrollment to basic nursing programs declined 4.6 percent, according to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). Recently, AACN reported a 2 percent decline for 2000. Two factors impacting low enrollment are: women today have more career choices and the perception that nursing requires hard work and it is not an intellectually challenging and financial rewarding profession. This is an image problem. I’m not sure nursing is viewed as a profession.
Between 1997 and 2000, there wasa perception that there were no nursing positions available. In the early 1990s there were hospital closings and RN layoffs, which I think led to the belief that nursing positions were not available. It’s been hard to let people know the situation has changed. Many high school graduates still think nursing programs have two to three year waiting lists for admission to the programs. Saint Francis College of Nursing does not have a waiting list. We also admit students twice a year, in August and January.
Solutions to the shortage need to be directed at getting a younger, more diverse population of nurses into the workforce. We must find a way to convince elementary and high school students nursing is an intellectually challenging and rewarding profession touching, the lives of people in the most personal and caring ways.
Recent media coverage of errors made by nurses and the nursing shortage may make nursing appear to be an unstable and high-risk career choice. We need more positive stories in the news about nurses. We need stories that tell about how many lives they save and touch every day in caring and compassionate ways. We need more books for young children on nursing and other health careers. This will start them thinking about nursing at a very early age.
I think health care organizations can combine their resources to improve the image of nursing. Local health care agencies can collaborate to have a Web site to educate people about the various paths to becoming a nurse by providing a resource site for people exploring nursing as a career.
Health care agencies and businesses could work together by sponsoring TV spots, positive movies and news programs on nursing and other health careers. This would educate elementary and high school students, parents, teachers, counselors, and the public and help to reveal a positive image of nursing.
The community can also help with the issue of getting more students to enroll in nursing programs. There are students who want to enter nursing, but do not have the financial assistance to do so. I, personally, would like to see collaboration between community organizations, hospitals, and nursing programs to reach minority students and men. Scholarships are needed to assist students, because finance is a serious barrier to going to school. Having enough nurses is a public service concern. At some point, all of us need nursing care. We all should participate in the solutions that will restore the interest in nursing as a career.
Is there a shortage in Peoria? What are you doing locally to improve the situation? Do you make an effort to keep graduates in the area? If so, how successful have you been?
Yes, I think that there is a nursing shortage in Peoria. I do not think it is at a crisis level. At the College, we have been working on increasing our enrollment. We have increased our recruitment strategies, which have been successful. We have 56 students registered to begin the program this Fall. This is a 60 percent increase from our average Fall enrollment. We graduate students twice each year, in December and May, with an average of 30 graduates each time. OSF Saint Francis Medical Center hires more than 95 percent of our graduates. Retaining our graduates in the Peoria area is not a problem because most of them are from this area. OSF offers many opportunities for new graduates to get challenging positions where they can continue to grow professionally, and is offering many incentives—such as sign-on bonuses and assistance with payment of educational loans, to encourage nurses to choose OSF. I think these approaches are working to recruit new nurses. We recognize these incentives are short-term solutions. The key is to put strategies in place that generate a pipeline of young students preparing for nursing careers.
OSF Saint Francis Medical Center awards a bachelor’s degree. An RN can come from an associate’s or diploma background as well. Explain the differences. What, if any, are the misperceptions in the community regarding RNs?
The differences in the three types of programs is in where the program is based, the length, the number of courses in social and physical sciences, math, communication and humanities that each program requires, and the expected level to which they will carry nursing roles and responsibilities. The diploma programs are typically three years in length, have fewer college courses, usually more clinical experiences during the nursing program and are operated by hospitals.
The associate degree nurse receives their education in a community college, has more college courses than the diploma program, but typically less clinical hours during their program. The baccalaureate program is based in colleges and universities with many science, behavioral, and social science courses, and mostly fewer clinical hours. Nursing courses build upon the general education courses, assisting students to apply the knowledge to nursing. This enhances the students’ skills in critical thinking, communication, leadership, and decision making.
All three programs prepare nurses for entry-level positions. They are all prepared with technical skills and nursing knowledge to give direct bedside nursing care. When new graduates first begin their nursing careers, the average person would not be able to determine which graduate came from which program. The difference lies in the breadth and depth of their comprehension of the patient illness and care, the ability to make accurate decisions, coordinate care, and be innovative.
Studies show that over time the baccalaureate graduate usually excels as an expert care provider because of the broad knowledge base. The BSN graduates excel professionally because the baccalaureate degree allows them to progress up the managerial ladder, and to other challenging positions.
Having worked in each of the four local programs, I believe each of them prepares nurses with the knowledge and skills needed at the beginning level. I must add that I have seen some of the associate and diploma degree nurses reach the managerial level as well. Therefore, after the beginning level the individual nurse’s experiences, ambition, and motivation determine how they progress in the profession.
The misperception in the community about nurses involves the image of nurses as blue-collar workers, not college-prepared professionals. Most patients are not aware of the educational background of nurses. I think the community wants nurses who are caring, knowledgeable, and competent individuals. I think nurses want to be valued by their employers and the community for the contributions they make to health care.
Noting there are few Ph.D. nurses in the area, what will be the nursing trend in 2010 as far as educational requirements?
Nurses with doctorates are increasing at our college. Two administrators, and five faculty have earned doctorate degrees, and six others are currently working on the degree. I think the nursing educational requirements will be the same in 2010 as they are now. The National Advisory Council on Nurse Education and Practice, an advisory board to the Federal Division of Nursing, recommends two-thirds of the basic nurse workforce hold baccalaureate or higher degrees in nursing by 2010. I see no changes in that direction at this time. I think there will be educational preferences, not a requirement, for the baccalaureate degree to be the requirement for entry-level positions. Currently, a master’s degree in nursing is required for administrative and educator positions. There is a preference for nurse educators and administrators to have doctorate degrees.
From a nursing perspective, how can health care delivery be improved? What obstacles (consumer, physician, geographic area, etc) are there to improving the current system?
Improving the current health care system requires better ways of providing access to health care for everyone. The major obstacle to improvement is the cost of health care. Many people cannot access health care because they cannot afford it. Health care agencies can no longer rely on Medicare and Medicaid to subsidize health care. Reimbursement for health care for the aged and poor continues to be cut with each government appropriation. When cost for care exceeds the amount allocated by Medicare, Medicaid, and insurance companies, the health care agencies have a deficit. As we know in our personal budgets, you can only lose money for so long before monetary actions have to be taken to recover.
Managed care, which is an integral part of integrated care, is a start. I believe managed care is controlling the cost of health care. It provides a continuum of care with a focus on access to health care, quality, patient satisfaction, and cost containment. The continuum of care should provide services from related health promotion and maintenance, acute and chronic illness care, follow-up care, and care of dying patients. Managed care is not increasing access for those who are not eligible for Medicare and cannot afford insurance. I think socialized medical care is the answer to provide access to medical care for everyone. It is very sad when money is the bottom line in life and death situations.
I think the focus on health promotion and disease prevention should be increased. This requires the dissemination of information and access to health services. Health care information is available on the Internet, thus making consumers more educated. Consumers need help in understanding and interpreting the information they find on the Internet, so that they can make informed decisions. There are consumers without access to the Internet who also need information about how to stay healthy.
Is there an area in your career you have yet to conquer that you would like to? Describe your future plans.
I have not focused on research and publications in my career. It seems that in each position, I have been too busy doing the job to have time to write. I would like to change that. I plan to develop some ideas I have for either articles or a book. Sometimes, I think about what I could accomplish as a college president. I am also studying for a doctorate in Christian Counseling. When I retire, I want to either develop a lay Christian counseling department at my church or get involved in an established Christian counseling agency.
How do you balance your job with family and community involvement?
At this point in my life balancing family, work, and community is not hard. My children are grown and gone. It is just my husband and me. My priority has been, and is, family first, work and then community. When my children were growing up, I was unable to be involved in the community, except through school activities. Now, I have more time for activities outside my home.
What has been your greatest challenge? Your most rewarding experience?
I think the leadership role is my greatest challenge professionally. The development and implementation of the associate degree nursing program at Richland Community College was an exceptional, positive, exhilarating experience. Creating a program from the ground up was very challenging. However, coming into my current leadership position with an established program was equally as challenging, requiring a very different skill-set. I am grateful for all the experiences I have had. I hope I have many more challenges in the future.
My most rewarding experience has been raising my children. It is so great to see them become good people and doing well in their careers. My son, Bill, is a graduate of Bradley University with a major in computer science, and lives in Denver. We visit him as much as we can. My daughter has her master’s in clinical psychology and works in Peoria. I am now waiting for them to make me a grandma.
Whatever accomplishments I have made, I did so through the strength, power, and wisdom of Jesus Christ. TPW