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September 29, 1999
MARGARET CLARK GRAHAM RECEIVES WSU PRESIDENTIAL
AWARD FOR FACULTY EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING
Margaret Clark Graham, Ph.D., RNCS, associate professor and director of the Family Nurse Practitioner Program at Wright State University, is this year's recipient of the WSU Presidential Award for Faculty Excellence in Teaching. As director of the Family Nurse Practitioner Program in the College of Nursing and Health (CONH) since 1994, Graham's job is to teach the experts."Our students are registered nurses with a bachelor's degree who have returned to this graduate program with an average of 12-15 years of nursing experience," Graham says. "They have incredible expertise, but now they must assume a new role. To go from expert to novice is a real challenge."
Graham shares her own clinical experiences with her students. She has practiced as a nurse practitioner in six different states. Currently, she practices weekly at the Adolescent Wellness Center in Dayton.
Intimately knowledgeable about the changing roles of nurses and advanced practice nurses, Graham's expertise, coupled with her easy, relaxed manner, have earned her outstanding student evaluations of her instruction. Her students have a 100 percent pass rate for the national certification exam. That compares to an average national pass rate of 77 percent. Earlier this year, Graham was named "Nurse of the Year" by District 10 of the Ohio Nurses Association (ONA).
"Her contributions have changed nursing in the state of Ohio and will have far reaching effects for years to come," said Kimberly Hickock, a clinical instructor at Wright State and a member of the ONA District 10 board of directors.
Graham's innovative teaching methods have increased enrollment, and made the program available to nurses in medically underserved communities. She has won more than $1 million in grants for teaching the family nurse practitioner program, which uses multi-media education, distance learning, one-on-one role modeling and supervision with faculty in clinical practice.
