Congratulations to Nancy Carter
Dec 22, 2021
The School of Nursing congratulates Dr. Nancy Carter on the renewal of her role as assistant dean of graduate nursing programs. This is her second term in this position.
Carter first took on this important responsibility in 2016. “After I was oriented to the role, one of my main focuses was on student success in scholarships and research output. Working with the assistant dean of research Dr. Michael McGillion and with other graduate faculty members, we improved the processes for funding applications. This resulted in a number of students winning major awards and funding, including three prestigious doctoral awards.”
As assistant dean, she also became involved in initiatives within McMaster, at the provincial level at Council of Ontario University Programs in Nursing (COUPN), and at the national level at Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing (CASN). “This helped to broaden my understanding of graduate studies and to strategize to make improvements for our students,” she notes.
“Our largest accomplishment was the curriculum renewal for all of our streams -- Masters Course, Masters Course PHC NP, Masters Thesis and PhD. Led by our curriculum committee chair, Dr. Denise Bryant-Lukosius, we involved students, alumni, faculty and community stakeholders to create a curriculum that will educate graduate nurses who can lead improved outcomes for patients and communities,” says Carter.
She notes that the roll-out of the revised curriculum coincided with the start of the pandemic. “It certainly was a stressful time, but it was worthwhile to offer programs to meet the needs of nurses wanting to advance their careers,” Carter says. “Prior to the pandemic, graduate school administrative assistant Carla Dawson led the improvement of a number of processes in our programs. The move to a virtual graduate program office went smoothly.”
“In the 2020/21 academic year, the Graduate Nursing programs went through the McMaster Internal Quality Assurance Program (IQAP). A number of strengths were identified through this review process, including our revised curriculum and student support strategies,” she says.
What are Carter’s next goals for the graduate nursing program? “In the coming few years, we will continue to evaluate the changes we made to the curriculum. We have new faculty members, and they will contribute to teaching and to supervision of graduate students. Trends in healthcare post-pandemic will mean changes for nurses in advanced roles. We will need to be nimble to make sure our graduates are prepared to continue to lead in healthcare,” says Carter.
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