Nursing Uncharted Ep. 43 - Revolutionizing Nursing Education - Dr. Mary Hanks

April 18, 2023

In this episode, nurse educator Mary Hanks, EdD, MSN, CNL, CNE shares how she revolutionized the nursing program at The University of West Alabama. We discuss training students to think like nurses, test banks, pushing innovation, the importance of a strong faculty, and more!

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We Discuss

(0:00) Introduction

(3:10) Test Questions & Training Students to Think Like Nurses

(8:34) “Need to Know” vs “Nice to Know”

(11:00) Pushing Innovation in Test Taking

(16:30) Handling Wrong Answers

(23:20) Importance of a Strong Faculty

(31:16) UWorld NCLEX Test Prep

(38:20) Student Retention Strategy

(45:00) Results of the Program Changes

About the Guest

Dr. Mary Hanks is the Chairperson and Associate Professor of Nursing at The University of West Alabama. She received her Bachelor of Science in nursing from the University of Alabama in 1993. Dr. Hanks holds a Master of Science in Nursing degree (2010) and a Doctor of Education (2017) from the University of Alabama. Her most noted accomplishment in nursing education to date is creating the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing accredited RN-to-BSN online program at the University of West Alabama. The BSN program admitted its first students in January 2021 and has graduated 16 BSN-prepared nurses.

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Show Credits

Host – Maggie Reichard

Producer – Jonathan Cary

Assistant Producers – Katie Schrauben & Sam MacKay

Music – Aidan Dykes

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