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TC Nursing Student Stories Archive

Kesha Becnel
Why did you choose the TC program?
I chose the Online Nurse Educator program at TC
for several reasons. First, it had the exact curriculum
that I was looking for as a nurse educator. I appreciated
the course list that covered all the topics
that a nurse educator needs to be successful in
following best practices in nursing education.
Second, as a wife, mom, and full-time nursing
instructor, I needed a program that was
completely online that I could work into my
busy schedule. Last (and most importantly), it
was Teachers College at Columbia which has
an outstanding reputation of producing nurse
educators who have led nursing education to
where it is today.
What do you think of the program and how
it is going for you?
I am now in year three of the program and
it has lived up to all my expectations. The
courses have allowed me to challenge myself
to be better as a current nurse educator and
it was the catalyst for me to take the leap
to becoming a Certified Nurse Educator. I
would have never had the nerve to attempt
the CNE exam, much less pass it without the
foundation that the ONE program at TC has
provided for me.
What are your research interests?
As I move into dissertation design and development
this spring, I am focusing on researching
the effectiveness of simulation-based
experiences used in large groups and/or the
classroom as a teaching strategy.
Ultimately, how do you think your TC
education will impact your career?
My ultimate goal in attaining my EdD is to
become tenure-track at the university I currently
am an instructor in and to teach in our
MSN nursing education courses. I feel that I
can make the most impact in nursing education
by sharing best teaching practices with the
next generation of nursing faculty.
Marilyn Campbell
Why did you choose the TC program?
I chose to apply to Teachers College because this institution
has produced notable alumni who have vastly
contributed to research and education. Teachers College
has an attractive online EdD program taught
by distinguished faculty, which was one of the
deciding factors for me to pursue my doctoral
journey at TC.
What do you think of the program and how
it is going for you?
My experience so far as a doctoral student
has been very optimistic and challenging at
times due to courses that require extensive
work, forcing me to manage my time between
family, work, and friends. My professors have
been excellent and demonstrate professionalism
while remaining humane. They provide
timely feedback, which allows the cohort to
make the necessary revisions to assignments
and awareness of our academic standing. The
professors work collaboratively in making sure
there is no overlap in course modules start
times. Some of the courses have introduced
me to the various technologies available to
enhance learning and student engagement
through interactive teaching strategies. I
am fortunate to be part of a cohort that has
demonstrated the true definition of what real
teamwork is all about. We have collaborated
well together and have encouraged each other
throughout this whole journey, and I anticipate
graduating with them all.
What are your research interests?
I am not quite sure what my dissertation topic
will be yet; however, my research interest
includes mentoring, recruitment and retention
of adjunct faculty, as well as embracing unitbased
education.
Ultimately, how do you think your TC education will impact your career?
When I attain my EdD in Nursing Education,
I see myself as a distinctive member of
a reputable academic institution. I will be
committed to lifelong learning by attending
conferences, obtaining certifications, being an
active participant in multiple research projects
and publications, accepting leadership roles,
and keeping abreast of the new and upcoming
changes in the clinical setting. I aspire to be
the best at what I am involved in by caring,
leading, researching, and respecting the profession
I have grown to admire and love.
Stephen Richards
Why did you choose the TC program? I chose the TC program because it is one of the few EdD programs in the country. I truly believe that the leaders in nursing education need to lead by example. A PhD or DNP program simply does not have the educational foundation, perspective, or proximity to prepare nurses to educate. Just as a cardiac surgeon does not perform orthopedic surgery, a PhD is meant to prepare a researcher, and DNP for practice.

What do you think of the program and how it is going for you?
I like the autonomy of the program as well as the content. My peer group is an inspiring group of individuals with a wealth of experience and nursing knowledge from a diverse background. My professors are supportive, they challenge me to grow as a nurse and give me the tools and knowledge that I need to actualize into the best nurse educator I can be.

What are your research interests?
I don't yet have a dissertation topic, but I am always interested in holistic nursing education; clinical and classroom mental health nursing; constructivism; Parse's Human Becoming Theory; individuation, authenticity; and the use of story, myth and metaphor in nursing education.

Ultimately, how do you think your TC education will impact your career?
I'm sure a degree from TC will open doors that were once closed, but more importantly, I think TC will give me the tools that I need to succeed. It will present me with the challenges that we all need in order to grow. It will give me the opportunity to become the best nurse educator that I can be.
Launette Woolforde
The TC Nursing Student Experience
Launette Woolforde, MS, RN, BC, always knew that she wanted to be a nurse, and for as long as she can remember, she knew that she wanted to be a pediatric nurse. So immediately after high school, Launette entered Pace University Lienhard School of Nursing to pursue a nursing degree. After the pediatric rotation, Launette realized that she was not cut out to work with sick children—and at times even wondered if nursing was for her. Nevertheless, she completed a BSN and began working with adult patients.
After many years of working with adult patients and mentoring nursing students on her unit, Launette began to realize how much personal and professional satisfaction she gained from teaching nursing students. After completing an MSN at Hunter College as an Adult Health Clinical Nurse Specialist, her career took a new path when she accepted a position as a nursing instructor.
Working as an educator inspired Launette to further her education and complete a post-masters certificate in nursing education at the College of New Rochelle (CNR). It was at CNR where she met her mentor, Dr. Connie Vance, who inspired her to advance the profession in new and dynamic directions through mentorship. Dr. Vance continues to inspire Launette to mentor others in nursing.
One day in class at CNR, Launette recalled that Dr Vance spoke of the importance of furthering our education and engaging in doctoral study. Although she needed to focus on the program she was in at CNR, Launette decided to explore doctoral programs. An advertisement about an open house at TC caught her attention. “I had always dreamed of attending Teachers College because of its world renowned status and unmatched nursing history,” she recalled. “I spoke with Dr Vance about it and she encouraged me to pursue a doctorate in education at her alma mater.”
Four years later Launette is entering her third year at TC in the Nursing Education program. “Sometimes I stroll through the hallways in awe of where I stand,” she reflected, “in the same halls and classrooms that were graced by some of the greatest scholars in nursing. I am looking forward to completing my coursework this semester and starting my dissertation classes and taking the certification exam in the spring.” Launette’s research interest is to understand why African Americans are underrepresented in health related research studies and the impact this has on their health.
Launette currently holds the position of orientation coordinator and clinical affiliations coordinator for the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, North Shore University Hospital. In this capacity she gets to work on two educational frontiers that she loves: working with nursing students and with new nurses (and experienced ones too). “For me,” she reflected, “nursing has been full of opportunities and professional development. Once I finish my degree I intend to work on the development of programs and strategies aimed at bridging racial and socioeconomic health disparities on Long Island and the surrounding areas.”
Erin Dolen
Why did you choose the TC program?
I chose the EdD in Nursing Education from Teacher’s
College, Columbia University because of the innovation,
esteemed faculty, and the ability to take classes online.
What do you think of the program and how
it is going for you?
I’m currently in my second semester and I’m
so thankful that I started this adventure at
Teacher’s College. I have learned so much in
just this short time that I am already applying
in my role as a nurse educator.
What are your research interests?
The dissertation topic I am interested in
researching is evaluation of the nursing student
in the clinical setting. Clinical evaluation tends
to lean towards the subjective and I would like
to find a way to evaluate students utilizing a
standardized method in order to be as objective
as possible.
Ultimately, how do you think your TC education will impact your career?
In the future, I am certain this degree will
open doors for me in the realm of academia
and will allow me the opportunity to be a
change agent and make a difference in nursing
education.
Debra Heinrich
Why did you choose the TC program?
Both of my masters’ degrees in nursing education are from TC, so it was only natural that I continue on that path! I had an in-service instructor in my first nursing position who was a TC grad, and she felt that TC had the best academic
program in education and encouraged all of
us to attend. I was very pleased when I learned
that TC had launched this online option for
the EdD.
What do you think of the program and how
it is going for you?
I think this program is incredibly strong. We
are fortunate to have professors who are committed
to our success and very dedicated to
both nursing education and nursing research.
Having an online option (finally!) really provides
flexibility for studying at one’s own pace
and schedule-and removes travel time!n text and edit me. What are your research interests?
I am focusing on teaching nursing students to
manage stress effectively. I think we all know how
challenging the healthcare field can be and managing
stress can ultimately impact so many areas besides
personal wellbeing, including burnout and attrition.
Ultimately, how do you think your TC education
will impact your career?
A TC degree carries a great deal of respect in the
education field. I would like to “give back” and focus
on encouraging students to continue their education,
hopefully here at TC- and encourage more online
programs at all levels in nursing education.
Carol Fetters Andersen
Carol Fetters Andersen, MSN, RN, enrolled at TC in the fall of 2005, and is one of nine doctoral candidates in the Nurse Executive Program cohort. Carol’s goal is to complete the EdD in 2009. Her dissertation interests relate to the exploration of facilitators and barriers to leadership development experiences by underrepresented minority faculty in nursing education. Carol is the Director of Product Development for the National League for Nursing in New York.

“I am so thrilled to be completing the doctoral program in nursing at Teachers College and beginning my involvement with the NEAA. TC is a wonderful and empowering place to learn, with exceptional faculty from a variety of roles and academic disciplines. My eight classmates are exceptional nurse leaders in their own areas of nursing education, practice, and organizational leadership. I feel privileged to study and learn with them, as we challenge each other to succeed and thrive. We have a collective and individual commitment to leave nursing better than we found it. This commitment carries on the work begun by M. Adelaide Nutting when she became the first nurse in the world to attain the position of professor of nursing in 1907, and assumed a leadership role as director of the new nursing program at TC. I am awed by the ongoing work and leadership provided by TC alumni since those early days of TC. Thank you for your efforts to make the nine of us feel welcome and already a part of NEAA! I hope to see and meet many of you at the 2007 Stewart Conference.”\
Ms. Carol Fetters Andersen has held numerous organizational leadership roles in nursing over the past 18 years. In 1988, while in her undergraduate nursing program at Grand View College in Des Moines, IA, she assumed the role of membership director for the Iowa Association of Nursing Students. She later served in 1990 as state president and went on to be elected national president of the National Student Nurses’ Association 1991-1992. In her junior academic year, Fetters Andersen was also awarded recognition as a National VA Scholar in nursing, inducted into Sigma Theta Tau International Zeta Chi chapter in 1991, and featured in Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges in 1991-1992.

After graduation from Grand View College with her BSN in the spring of 1992, she continued her passion for nursing as a mental health nurse at the Central Iowa VA Healthcare System in Knoxville, IA, serving as co-chair of the Knoxville VA Nursing Research Committee, and began her MSN program at the University of Iowa which she completed in 1998. Fetters Andersen continued to develop as a nurse manager and leader in professional nursing organizations serving as an RN Case Manager, the Clinical Coordinator of a Geriatric Behavioral Health Unit, as a Director of Mental Health Services and on the Board of Directors of the Iowa Nurses’ Association, and later as First Vice President of the Maryland Nurses’ Association.

Her book, “Nursing Student to Nursing Leader: The critical path to leadership development in nursing” published by Delmar Thomson Learning (1999; second edition under revision), is being used by nursing schools in the US and abroad and is the required text for NSNA’s Leadership University In 2001, Fetters Andersen was awarded the Edith Ruppert Award for contributions significant to the improvement of nursing by the Iowa Nurses’ Association. After moving to Maryland in 2002, she served as the Magnet Status Coordinator for the Sheppard Pratt Health System, and then as a nurse faculty member at Harford Community College in Bel Air, MD and the College of Notre Dame of Maryland.

In December 2004, Fetters Andersen accepted a position at the National League for Nursing as their manager for Professional Development, and served in that role which included managing and coordinating the regional workshops, conferences and the 2006 NLN Summit program in New York City. During this time she became a member of ASAE, a graduate student member of the NLN, and continued as a sustaining member of the National Student Nurses Association since 1992. In 2007, Fetters Andersen was promoted to the role of Director of Product Development for the NLN. In this new role, she will facilitate the creation, revision, and implementation of comprehensive NLN assessment products and services that will assist nursing students, nurse faculty leaders, and nurse administrators to evaluate teaching and learning outcomes within changing nursing education and practice environments.

While NSNA President, she served as a contributing author on the ANA Position Statement on HIV and Student Nurses, and was an invited panelist along with the late Mary Starke Harper, PhD, RN, FAAN, at the National Conference on Gerontological Nursing Education in Norfolk, VA. As the NLN representative, Fetters Andersen attended the 2006 National Leadership Summit on Eliminating Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health, DHHS Office of Minority Health in Washington, DC, from January 9-11, 2006. During the National Leadership Summit’s Commemorative event on January 10, 2006, she was again able to honor and re-connect with Dr. Mary Starke Harper, who received the prestigious Secretary’s Award and was recognized as a visionary leader whose inimitable contributions have advanced minority health and health disparities as a national priority. Obituary
Carol A. Andersen, 62, passed away on March 4, 2017 at her home in Austin, Texas after a long, hard fought battle with cancer. During her life, Carol was an accomplished nursing practitioner, scholar, and educational advocate. Her nursing education began at Grand View University Division of Nursing where she earned a BSN in 1992. From there, Carol earned a Masters of Science in Nursing in 1998 from the University of Iowa's College of Nursing, and her EdD in 2014 from Teachers College.
Having proven herself a champion of mental health awareness and treatment, she served as Director of Mental Health Services for the St Anthony Regional Hospital in Carroll Iowa from 1999 to 2002 and as Magnet Status Coordinator for the Sheppard Pratt Health System in Baltimore from 2002 to 2004. During this time, she worked tirelessly in the field of geriatric dementia, an area she considered her specialty.

She taught at Harford Community College in Bel Air, MD from 2003 to 2005; served as Director of Curriculum Assessment and Retention Solutions for the National League for Nursing in NYC from 2004 to 2008; and as Director of Governance and Program Development for the National Student Nurses Association from 2008 to 2011. Since 2011, held the title of Director of the Palestine, TX Nursing Program and Assistant Professor at the University of Texas at Tyler’s School of Nursing.

During her nursing career, she contributed to nine books and publications, most notably she was the author and editor of Nursing Student to Nursing Leader: The Critical Path to Leadership Development, and her doctoral dissertation, “Understanding the lived experience of Black or African American nurse educators achieving tenure in the early 21st century.”

She served as president of the Iowa Association of Nursing Students in 1990 and in 1991 she was elected president of the National Student Nurses’ Association.

Carol's friendly manner, magnetic personality, and her ability to engage in constructive and interesting conversation drew all types of people to her. She had an uncanny knack for making perfect strangers feel as though they had been friends for years, and selflessly gave of her time to anyone who needed it.

A memorial scholarship fund to support undergraduate nursing education has been established by the family. Contributions in memory of Carol Andersen may be sent to the Foundation of the National Student Nurses’ Association, 45 Main Street, Suite 606, Brooklyn, NY 11201.
Teachers College Columbia University Nursing Education Alumni Association
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