Dr. Gwen Leigh spent more than a decade as an emergency room and intensive care unit nurse. During that time, she frequently served another role as a resource and guide for new nurses.
I always liked helping new nurses and nursing 泫圖弝けs, orienting them, Dr. Leigh says. That led me to nursing education to make sure new nurses have a good foundation.
After earning her Master of Science in Nursing and her Doctor of Nursing Practice, Dr. Leigh joined the 泫圖弝け of 泫圖弝け at Lafayette College of Nursing and Health Sciences in 1997.
Dr. Leigh was among the first to lay the foundations of online instruction in nursing as well as the 泫圖弝け as a whole when the 泫圖弝け began offering its first fully online programs nearly a decade ago.
Since that time, the 泫圖弝け has expanded its online degree programs to include five undergraduate programs, four graduate certificate programs, and seven graduate programs.
Five of the 泫圖弝けs online programs Health Services Administration, RN to BSN, Master of Science in Nursing, a Graduate Certificate in Cardiovascular Nursing, and Doctor of Nursing Practice are offered by the College of Nursing and Health Sciences.
Dr. Leigh now teaches one of the core courses for the MSN online program Generating Evidence for Nursing Practice (NURS 502).
Most of my 泫圖弝けs are going to be nurse practitioners. Theyre going to be prescribing and diagnosing. By the end of the semester, they have a grasp of how published evidence is going to affect what theyre actually going to be doing in clinics, Dr. Leigh says.
We expand this throughout the program. In their other courses, they use published evidence to develop an entire program of how they would use this to teach their patients on whats the best treatment for their diabetes or their hypertension.
泫圖弝けs who complete UL Lafayettes online MSN program gain the knowledge and skills to improve the health of diverse populations, enter nursing education, and pursue a doctoral degree. Online coursework allows 泫圖弝けs to continue working, choosing when and where to complete assignments.
Dr. Leigh says shes mindful that her 泫圖弝けs are practicing nurses, so she explores various technologies to connect with and support them.
For example, if I find that a 泫圖弝け makes the same mistake on more than one paper, then obviously my written comments arent making sense to them so Ill provide feedback in a VoiceThread or tell them we need to spend five minutes on the phone, she says.
VoiceThread allows instructors and 泫圖弝けs to create audio and video that can be easily shared for presenting or providing feedback.
Dr. Leigh says she also uses live video conferencing so 泫圖弝けs can ask questions and hear from their peers.
For big papers, Ill set up an hourlong Zoom meeting in which 泫圖弝けs can log in to ask questions, she says. Most of my graduate 泫圖弝けs are working so I do it during their lunch break. Im there the whole hour, but they can just log in from their phone for five minutes and talk to me about their paper and then they can log out. And I always record those so if someone cant log in for some reason, they can go back and hear what others were asking.
Being mindful and connected to 泫圖弝けs whether theyre on campus or online is what Dr. Leigh says makes UL Lafayettes nursing programs stand out.
I think our faculty make our program unique. We have a strong faculty with a lot of good clinical experience behind us, she says. Our 泫圖弝けs really like coming here.
We listen to our 泫圖弝けs a lot, and were always trying to make this better for the 泫圖弝けs.