Recipients of Novice Faculty Teaching Awards

The annual AACN Novice Faculty Teaching Awards recognize excellence and innovation in the teaching of nursing by novice faculty at AACN member schools. Two awards are presented each year: one for didactic teaching and the second for clinical teaching.

Award winners are invited to attend one AACN conference during the academic year, with the registration fee waived. At that conference they will be presented with an engraved award commemorating their achievement. 
 

2011 Recipients

Lorretta Krautscheid is a nursing instructor at the University of Portland. Previously, she was director of the University of Portland School of Nursing Learning Resource Center.  In that position, Ms. Krautscheid designed and implemented both formative and summative simulations across the undergraduate and graduate curriculum, supporting the core competencies of the school of nursing. Ms. Krautscheid has presented nationally on these topics and co-authored the Clinical Faculty Development Simulation Scenarios DVD and teaching guide; a program that highlights simulation as a strategy for clinical faculty to learn and practice teaching strategies. She currently is enrolled in the PhD in Education program, with a nursing specialization, at Capella University.

Ms. Krautscheid’s academic practice is guided by a personal nurse educator conceptual framework that integrates transformational, constructivist, and behavioral theory concepts. Key elements of her framework include student expression of ideas, role-modeling of professional nursing standards, incorporation of innovative active learning strategies, and integration of evidence and theory into teaching practices.

The use of this framework is reflected in the teaching strategies and learning activities she employs to foster curiosity, enthusiasm, initiative, responsibility for learning, and mutual respect in her students. As an example, Ms. Krautscheid utilized her conceptual framework to address student concerns and improve course content for a senior level Evidence-Based Nursing course. Interactive lectures, interpretive learning exercises, and collaborative learning via online forum discussions challenged students to reconstruct knowledge by linking prior experiences with current professional standards. By applying her conceptual framework to her practice, Ms. Krautscheid is fostering curiosity, enthusiasm, initiative, responsibility for learning, and mutual respect.

Novice Faculty Excellence in Clinical Teaching Award

Niki Fogg, MS, RN, CPN and Jennifer Wilson, MS, RN, CPN (joint recipients)
Texas Woman’s University

Niki Foggg is a certified pediatric nurse. She holds a graduate degree in Nursing Education and is currently employed as an assistant clinical professor at Texas Woman's University (TWU). She is an active in the Society of Pediatric Nurses, serving on the national Public Policy committee and as Past Chapter President.  She is also a member of Sigma Theta Tau. Ms. Fogg was honored as a "Great 100 Nurse" of North Central Texas and has published in the area of pediatric nursing.

Jennifer Wilson is an assistant clinical professor at Texas Woman’s University. Her clinical background is in Pediatric Oncology and General Pediatrics. She earned a BSN from the University of Maryland and a MSN with a specialization in Oncology from George Mason University. Ms. Wilson was the recipient of the 2011 TWU Redbud Outstanding Undergraduate Nursing Faculty Award. She is a certified pediatric nurse and is an active member of the Association of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Nurses and the Society of Pediatric Nurses, serving on the National Education Committee. Her current area of clinical research is focused on promoting nursing as a “thinking profession,” and on children’s perceptions of nurses and the nursing profession. She has published in the areas of pediatric nursing and oncology.

In Fall 2008, Ms. Fogg and Ms. Wilson joined a seasoned faculty team to develop a new Child Health Competencies course. Using simulation and laboratory activities, they implemented innovative, student-centered teaching strategies to integrate theory and clinical practice, thereby encouraging clinical reasoning.

Examples of their innovations include:

• Innovations in Simulation “A Season for Simulation” — a series of evolving theme-based simulations focusing on assessment, prioritization, communication, and treatment using SBAR methods allowing for assessment of clinical reasoning.
• Medication Safety Simulations — a medication administration simulation to replace the traditional pediatric medication calculation test, allowing faculty to reinforce quality and safety approaches in pediatric medication education.
• Mobile Skills Stations — mobile simulation tools for “just-in-time” education and reinforcement of pediatric skills and concepts in the clinical setting by clinical faculty. 
• “Are You Smarter than a Fifth-Grader?” — initially developed as a clinical teaching project for nursing students. The activity shows 5th graders how math is incorporated into nursing through developmentally appropriate interactive stations. It has evolved into a collaborative project with the adult health course in which nursing students promote nursing as a “Thinking Profession” by teaching high school students critical thinking skills through high fidelity simulation. This project has assisted with recruitment efforts in the college of nursing by targeting students previously considering a career in science, technology, or math, who may now consider the field of nursing.