Health Professional As Educator: Principles of Teaching and Learning

Susan Bacorn Bastable earned her MEd in community health nursing and her EdD in curriculum and instruction in nursing at Teachers College, Columbia University, in 1976 and 1979, respectively. She received her diploma in nursing from Hahnemann Hospital School of Nursing (now known as Drexel University of the Health Sciences) in Philadelphia in 1969 and her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Syracuse University in 1972.Dr. Bastable was professor and founding chair of the Department of Nursing at LeMoyne College in Syracuse, New York for 11 years. She retired in May 2015 and was honored with the title of professor emerita. She began her academic career in 1979 as assistant professor at Hunter College, Bellevue School of Nursing in New York City, where she remained on the faculty for 2 years. From 1987 to 1989, she was assistant professor in the College of Nursing at the University of Rhode Island. In 1990, she joined the faculty of the College of Nursing at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, where she was associate professor and chair of the undergraduate program for 14 years. In 2004, she assumed her leadership position at Le Moyne College and successfully established an RN-BS completion program; an innovative 4-year undergraduate dual-degree partnership in nursing (DDPN) supported by two Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grants in conjunction with the associate’s degree program at St. Joseph’s College of Nursing in Syracuse; a BS-MS bridge program; a postbaccalaureate RN-MS certificate program; a master of science program and three post-MS certificate programs with tracks in nursing education, nursing administration, and informatics; and most recently a family nurse practitioner (FNP) program as well as a post-MS FNP option.Dr. Bastable has taught undergraduate courses in nursing research, community health, and the role of the nurse as educator, and courses at the master’s and postmaster’s level in the academic faculty role, curriculum and program development, and educational assessment and evaluation. For 31 years, she served as consultant and external faculty member for Excelsior College (formerly known as Regents College of the University of the State of New York). Her clinical practice includes experiences in community health, oncology, rehabilitation and neurology, occupational health, and medical/surgical nursing.Dr. Bastable received the President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching at Upstate Medical University and the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. Also, she was recognized for the Women in Leadership Award from the Greater Syracuse Chamber of Commerce and was honored with the Distinguished Achievement Award in Nursing Education from Teacher’s College, Columbia University. In addition to authoring six editions of Nurse as Educator, she is the author of two editions of Essentials of Patient Education and is the main editor of two editions of the textbook Health Professional as Educator.In retirement, she has been serving in the role of a nursing education consultant for national and regional program accreditations and assisting colleges of nursing across New York and other states in replicating the unique 1+2+1 dual-degree partnership model mentioned herein, the first of its kind in the country. For years she has been an involved member of numerous nursing education advisory boards. Currently, she also has been an active volunteer for 10 years with Honor Flight Syracuse, an organization that flies veterans to Washington, DC to visit the war memorials erected in their honor. She is the proud parent of two Navy officer veterans and the grandparent to three beautiful grandchildren.

Associate Professor, Department of Physical Therapy Education, Upstate Medical University

Clinical Professor and Program Director, Distance Education Post-Professional Occupational Therapy Programs, Boston University

Dean, School of Health Sciences, Excelsior College