Carter Nationally Recognized as Nurse Educator

Katherine Carter, DNP, PHCNS-BC, Instructor of Nursing at LSU Health New Orleans School of Nursing, is one of four nurse educators awarded the 2017 Nurse’s Touch Award by ATI Nursing Education. The recipients, selected from nominations of 50 of the highest-caliber nurse educators in the country, are honored for advancing professionalism, leadership and communication skills in nursing education programs.

Nurses face a number of challenges in today's high-tech healthcare system which asks them to be a skilled care provider, information sharer, wellness educator and quality-control expert - all wrapped into one. Nurse educators excel at teaching technical knowledge and skills. But how do they teach students the qualities that make certain nurses so memorable? How do they teach students to have “the Nurse's Touch”? It means having a deep understanding of the human side of nursing. The so-called “interpersonal skills” that separate everyday nurses from people who truly make a difference in the lives of others. The Nurse’s Touch Award was created to honor the nurse educators who embody this spirit and train the next generation with the same compassion.

Stephanie Pierce, PhD, RN, CNE, Program Director for Baccalaureate Articulation, CARE, and Nurse Educator MSN Programs at LSU Health New Orleans School of Nursing, nominated Dr. Carter for the award. “Dr. Carter has a very personal sense of ethics. She is a skilled nurse and practices in public health service through volunteering and organizing health fairs, vision and hearing screenings, and mediation counseling to name a few. She also does health counseling in her community and practices faith-based nursing.”

Pierce says Carter displays high integrity and always desires to meet the ethical requirements of a professional nurse. “She walks the walk and talks the talk of what she expects from the students. She exhibits professionalism in all contact situations: email, verbal, and written forms of communication. She seeks further knowledge through continuing education and conferences and communicates with other professional disciplines to learn team concepts.”

Carter is a certified clinical nurse specialist in public health and serves as a clinical and theory faculty member in the population-focused nursing courses in both the traditional and RN-BSN programs at LSU Health New Orleans School of Nursing. She has experience in orthopedics, pediatrics, and medical-surgical nursing, along with extensive experience in home health and hospice. Carter also has experience as a health facilities surveyor with the Department of Health and Hospitals - Health Standards Section. She has received the DAISY Faculty Award, which recognizes excellence, and is active in her community senior centers and local homeless shelter.

Carter says she is honored to have received the Nurse's Touch Award. “I feel humbled to receive such a prestigious reward and to have my commitment to nursing education be recognized. I am a public health nurse educator and assist nursing students in achieving better understanding of community nursing and the communities that nurses serve. With this award, I will attend a conference that will provide me with tools to become an even better educator. I will strive to challenge my students on their paths to providing excellent nursing care with caring, compassion, and understanding in all fields of nursing that they choose to enter.”

ATI Nursing Education is the leading provider of online learning programs that are instrumental in improving faculty effectiveness and student and program outcomes in nursing schools across the country. Currently, the company works with more than 20,000 nurse educators, approximately 2,100 colleges and universities nationwide, and more than 225,000 students. ATI Nursing Education has played a role in helping more than 1 million students pass the NCLEX, the U.S. nursing licensing exam. ATI Nursing Education is part of Ascend Learning. Founded in 2010, Ascend Learning provides technology-based educational, curriculum, and assessment solutions for healthcare and other professional industries. For more information, visit http://www.ascendlearning.com/companies/ati-nursing/.