Dr. Taylor is an Assistant Professor at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) and teaches in both the BSN and MSN programs.  She began her career as a nurse educator in 2020 after working as a Family Nurse Practitioner for several years.  Dr. Taylor received her BSN at Tennessee Technological University and her MSN and DNP from Vanderbilt University.  Dr. Taylor teaches the health assessment course in the first semester of the undergraduate program and teaches Advanced Health Assessment in the graduate program.     

Her nomination was provided by a student from her first semester health assessment course and exemplifies her qualities as a DAISY Award recipient, “Dr. Taylor is very knowledgeable about the topics we cover in class while also making it personal.  She made her class engaging with student participation and would come around to talk to students while on a break to check on everyone.  I gained so much respect for her when she would accommodate her schedule to fit in meetings to come to talk to students.  I struggled with acclimating to the new workload that comes with nursing school.  I thought a lot of the time, ‘There’s no way I’m making it through this semester.’ . . . Dr. Taylor gave me guidance on how to study, coping skills, and extra supplemental materials to help make concepts stick in other courses, and still made it feel personal.  She would follow up with how I did on exams I was worried about and provide very specific feedback.  I cried so many times in front of her because I was comfortable.  I do not think I would have made it through the semester if I didn’t have the encouragement, mentorship, and constructive criticism from Dr. Taylor.”