Nightingale Challenge Nurse Educator Feature: Jennifer Miller PhD, RN, CMSRN

by Jennifer Miller PhD, RN, CMSRN, Assistant Professor, Bellarmine University | May 19, 2021

Throughout 2020―aptly named The Year of the Nurse―Kaplan was proud to participate in Nursing Now’s Nightingale Challenge with the aim of mentoring the next generation of nurse educators. We matched our Kaplan Educators with remarkable nurses from across the United States to provide leadership and development training in addition to monthly virtual meetings to discuss topics such as curriculum development, trends in teaching, the Next Generation NCLEX, overcoming professional challenges, and much more. Throughout this year, we are excited to share interviews with these Nightingale Challenge mentees. This month, we're pleased to introduce you to Jennifer Miller PhD, RN, CMSRN, Assistant Professor, Bellarmine University.

TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF

I grew up in the small town of Winchester, Kentucky and went to undergrad at the University of Kentucky. Travel nursing took me to Florida, where I lived near Tampa for 8 years, worked in acute care and oncology nursing, and finished my Ph.D. at the University of South Florida. I recently returned home to Kentucky and now work in Louisville at Bellarmine University as an Assistant Professor of Nursing! 

What is your particular area of expertise?

I’m an expert on medical/surgical nursing, the fundamentals of nursing instruction, nursing research, and learning to photograph the night sky.

Who or what experience inspired you to become a nurse?

Interestingly, I didn’t always aspire to be a nurse and no one in my immediate family worked in nursing. Once I went to college, I did a real analysis of my interests, such as working with people and learning about science and the human body, and thought nursing was a great fit. I was right!

TELL US ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE AS A NURSE EDUCATOR

Why did you decide to pursue a career as a nurse educator? 

I was a preceptor early in my career and knew immediately I loved teaching and training new nurses. I wanted to be an essential part of a nurse’s early career, providing knowledge as well as encouragement, guidance and helping them build confidence. This inspired me to try out nursing education as an adjunct clinical instructor, then getting a Master’s in Nursing Education, and eventually a full-time position in nursing education. 

What is the most rewarding aspect of your career?      

My favorite day of the year is taking fundamental students to their very first day in the acute care setting. Some are understandably anxious, but all are excited about the opportunity to connect with patients. It’s inspiring to see such excitement about the nursing profession.

If you hadn’t become a nurse, what other profession would you have pursued? 

I also considered careers in computer science and journalism because I love informatics and writing.

In your opinion, why is it important to teach students to “think like a nurse?”

You can teach students pathophysiology, facts, skills, and give them access to so many resources. But when you teach them to actually start thinking differently, they develop the tools they need to find answers in real-life situations. 

Tell us about your experience using virtual simulation as part of your curricula.

Our Simulation lab was amazing in implementing virtual sims, especially during the pandemic. I have enjoyed it so much and think students developed great critical thinking skills. It also gives students exposure to situations that may not always be there―for example, our fundamentals class did a v-sim that focused on care of a patient with an ostomy.

What is the biggest challenge facing nurse educators today?

Literally “today”―it is obviously balancing pandemic-related problems such as providing hands-on experience while keeping everyone safe. Another important issue among nurse educators is finding a good work-life balance in this age of always having access to your work online. We don’t want everyone to burn out!

THE NIGHTINGALE CHALLENGE

Tell us about your experience during the Nightingale Challenge with Kaplan. 

I am so fortunate to have been a part of this challenge. The topics covered issues that were coming up in my daily work and I was able to change aspects immediately after the meetings I had with my mentor or as a large group. I feel like this helped me grow tremendously.

What was the best part of working with your Kaplan Nursing Mentor? 

Ryan Goble was so resourceful. I would often give him a question or topic I wanted to know more about and he’d pull together resources or invite others to come to our meetings and each one was very insightful. He also is very knowledgeable about test writing, and in our time together I learned how to improve my item writing skills. 

Which Nightingale Challenge Meeting resonated most deeply with you and why? 

The meeting about Active Learning Strategies and Test Blueprinting were very helpful as a new educator; I was able to put some of the things I learned into practice immediately. 

What is the most important thing that you learned from this experience about being a successful and impactful nurse educator?

There is not a one-size-fits-all answer to nursing education, but there are some great evidence-based practices that can guide you to be very effective and rigorous in your approach. Also, turn to your experienced colleagues and mentors, they’ve probably been through a lot of the same challenges.

What was the most important takeaway for you from 2020: Year of the Nurse and Midwife? 

Nurses are heroes and advocates. I can’t express my admiration enough for the students entering the profession during this pandemic.

What do you think the future of nursing will look like for students and faculty?

I think a lot of research will come as a result of the pandemic and we will learn which of the innovations we had to put into play rapidly were effective. We are going to emerge as even stronger educators and nurses. 

ADVICE

What was the most important piece of advice you received from your Kaplan Nursing Mentor?

Ryan is obviously very current in his practice and showed me the value in staying up-to-date on the NCSBN and Next Generation NCLEX plans to guide my item writing style. He said students will recognize and appreciate if my test questions look like the ones they see later on the NCLEX. 

What advice do you offer your students as they prepare for NCLEX and/or starting their nursing careers?

Remember your “why”. Nursing is an amazing career with many opportunities. Give yourself time to adjust to the new role and find a trusted role model or mentor you can have real conversations with about the transition.

And finally, is there anything else that you would like to share with our readers?

I am very thankful that Kaplan put together this innovative program for new nurse educators and hope to keep in touch with my mentor Ryan for a long time to come. 

NCLEX® is a registered trademark of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Inc. Test names are the property of the respective trademark holders, none of whom endorse or are affiliated with Kaplan.

I grew up in the small town of Winchester, Kentucky and went to undergrad at the University of Kentucky. Travel nursing took me to Florida, where I lived near Tampa for 8 years, worked in acute care and oncology nursing, and finished my Ph.D. at the University of South Florida. I recently returned home to Kentucky and now work in Louisville at Bellarmine University as an Assistant Professor of Nursing! 

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