I would like to thank this faculty member and share my story of why this instructor is so special: I am amazed by all that Susan Randol does and her multifaceted functioning in the nursing department. Susan has been in the nursing department (I am not sure exactly) about 30 years. She is the semester coordinator for the 2nd-semester sophomores (Nursing 208 and 209) who have been accepted into clinicals. These students are just beginning to learn skills in the Learning Resource Center and go to the hospital for the first time later in the semester. As the semester coordinator, Susan functions not only as the lecturer for N208 and all that entails, but also spends a large amount of time in counseling the students, giving test-taking advice, time-management, and advising on issues with consequences to their education, and just listening. The students need guidance in many aspects – not just classes, and Susan makes herself available to the students. Susan also assists/mentors current faculty and new faculty in teaching how to function with beginning-level students as well as being a liaison to the clinical agencies and visiting the clinical sites and faculty members to evaluate their effectiveness and ability as a clinical faculty. Susan helps new faculty in grading student careplans and assesses the faculty’s ability to grade. Susan even, periodically, reviews careplans current faculty grade to ensure they are compliant and effective at grading.

As semester coordinator, Susan meets with the other semester coordinators to work on policies, problems, appeals, clinical issues, and decisions that impact the college and department. Susan is on the curriculum committee, which is an active and important committee that includes discussing and approving/not approving new or different course content and objectives, approving/not approving new textbooks, and other such matters pertaining to curriculum. Susan is the Chair of the Program Evaluation Committee, which is another active committee. This committee monitors and surveys students, faculty, clinical partners, and alumni for issues, changes that are needed and essentially to show that we are maintaining an effective nursing program. The results of various surveys are evaluated and monitored for issues that may be reported to the curriculum committee and nursing administration.

When the pandemic hit, and both the lecture component and clinical component switched to a virtual format, Susan had to develop an effective, workable clinical schedule for the remaining 7 weeks of the course. Susan devised a clinical schedule with virtual activities to simulate a patient care day including virtual patients, communication activities, and a way to do post conferences with faculty for meaningful discussions after clinical. These new students receive a white coat during a ceremony separate from class time, and Susan is involved with this ceremony.

Susan has been on ad hoc committees including a CCNE accreditation subcommittee. Additionally, Susan has taken the Quality Matters Online Certification course through the Office of Distance Learning to become Online Certified. For service, Susan is involved in Camp Bon Coeur, which is a community organization serving children with heart defects or problems and their parents/families. Her involvement has included being elected Executive Board Secretary and Chair of executive operations committee. Susan was a member of the medical operations committee which among other things reviews charts for campers (patients) and staff prior to admission to camp for compliance and problems, confers with physicians & NPs concerning campers’ health issues for the family camp held January 2020.

When I think of Susan – she comes across to me as someone who is doing the work of 5 people. She has a depth of knowledge of the nursing department. Most of all, she is SO good at working with this beginning-level course – both with the students and faculty. I think she is amazing, and this nursing department is blessed to have her.