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.
小蝌蚪APP淚 always liked helping new nurses and nursing students, orienting them,小蝌蚪APP Dr. Leigh says. 小蝌蚪APP淭hat led me to nursing education 小蝌蚪APP to make sure new nurses have a good foundation.小蝌蚪APP
After earning her Master of Science in Nursing and her Doctor of Nursing Practice, Dr. Leigh joined the 小蝌蚪APP 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 小蝌蚪APP as a whole when the 小蝌蚪APP began offering its first fully online programs nearly a decade ago.
Since that time, the 小蝌蚪APP has expanded its online degree programs to include five undergraduate programs, four graduate certificate programs, and seven graduate programs.
Five of the 小蝌蚪APP小蝌蚪APP檚 online programs 小蝌蚪APP Health Services Administration, RN to BSN, Master of Science in Nursing, a Graduate Certificate in Cardiovascular Nursing, and Doctor of Nursing Practice 小蝌蚪APP are offered by the College of Nursing and Health Sciences.
Dr. Leigh now teaches one of the core courses for the MSN online program 小蝌蚪APP Generating Evidence for Nursing Practice (NURS 502).
小蝌蚪APP淢ost of my students are going to be nurse practitioners. They小蝌蚪APP檙e 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 they小蝌蚪APP檙e actually going to be doing in clinics,小蝌蚪APP Dr. Leigh says.
小蝌蚪APP淲e 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 what小蝌蚪APP檚 the best treatment for their diabetes or their hypertension.小蝌蚪APP
Students who complete UL Lafayette小蝌蚪APP檚 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 students to continue working, choosing when and where to complete assignments.
Dr. Leigh says she小蝌蚪APP檚 mindful that her students are practicing nurses, so she explores various technologies to connect with and support them.
小蝌蚪APP淔or example, if I find that a student makes the same mistake on more than one paper, then obviously my written comments aren小蝌蚪APP檛 making sense to them so I小蝌蚪APP檒l provide feedback in a VoiceThread or tell them we need to spend five minutes on the phone,小蝌蚪APP she says.
VoiceThread allows instructors and students 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 students can ask questions and hear from their peers.
小蝌蚪APP淔or big papers, I小蝌蚪APP檒l set up an hourlong Zoom meeting in which students can log in to ask questions,小蝌蚪APP she says. 小蝌蚪APP淢ost of my graduate students are working so I do it during their lunch break. I小蝌蚪APP檓 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 can小蝌蚪APP檛 log in for some reason, they can go back and hear what others were asking.小蝌蚪APP
Being mindful and connected to students 小蝌蚪APP whether they小蝌蚪APP檙e on campus or online 小蝌蚪APP is what Dr. Leigh says makes UL Lafayette小蝌蚪APP檚 nursing programs stand out.
小蝌蚪APP淚 think our faculty make our program unique. We have a strong faculty with a lot of good clinical experience behind us,小蝌蚪APP she says. 小蝌蚪APP淥ur students really like coming here.
小蝌蚪APP淲e listen to our students a lot, and we小蝌蚪APP檙e always trying to make this better for the students.小蝌蚪APP