Education Breeds Success, According To Philadelphia Nursing Assistant Professor
Dr. Michelle Kelly is an assistant professor at Villanova University, College of Nursing, and currently serves as the pediatric nursing practitioner program track coordinator. In addition to her faculty role, Dr. Kelly continues to treat patients as a pediatric nurse practitioner at the Abington VNA Children's Health Clinic.
Can you describe your duties as an assistant professor of nursing at Villanova?
"At Villanova, I teach pediatrics, the care of children, to undergraduate and graduate students. At the undergraduate level, we teach nursing students to be competent professionals who care for patients throughout the lifespan and across clinical setting. Our curriculum includes specific courses in the care of adults, aging adults, children, women's health, mental health and community nursing."
"At the graduate level, I coordinate the primary care pediatric nurse practitioner program. This includes teaching the advanced practice primary care of children and advising students in the pediatric nurse practitioner program."
How has education prepared you for your career as a nurse?
"My nursing education has advanced over the years and various phases of my career. My undergraduate education, a B.S.N. from Villanova University in 1994, prepared me for a role as a successful nurse at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Over the year I completed an M.S.N. as a pediatric nurse practitioner (U. Pennsylvania 1997), and a Post-Master's degree as a neonatal nurse practitioner (Thomas Jefferson University 2005), and most recently a Ph.D. in Nursing (Villanova 2012). I value learning, be it a formal instruction or the informal education acquired while caring for children and families. Each experience affected my nursing knowledge and practice. One of the best things about my role as faculty is being able to share that information and lead future nurses or nurse practitioners along the path of education and personal growth."
What advice would you give someone just starting out?
"My advice is one part practical, and one part philosophical. First, the practical: choose to work in an environment where you feel passionate about your patients. Loving what we do is part of what makes nurses successful. When I teach a seminar on prematurity, I talk to the students about what it is like to care for babies that are so fragile and sick. They often ask, "How do you do it? Does it get to you? Make you sad?" The answers are sure, some days are hard, some days are sad, but most days, are terrific. "
"The philosophical part of my advice is this: Believe that your education has prepared you to succeed. That means that whether you are a novice nurse, nurse practitioner or new faculty member, your nursing education is a strong foundation and one that combined with a vigorous spirit of inquiry, will serve your practice and your patients well."