Dr. LaDonna Christian When LaDonna Christian, MSN ’07, PhD decided to pursue a career in higher education, she chose to earn her master’s degree at UMass Dartmouth because it was one of only a few colleges offering a focus in her specialty, community health nursing. Today, she takes the lessons she learned from her professors—caring about students while challenging them to excel, and guiding them to be innovative—into her own classroom. An associate professor at Simmons College, Christian has achieved more than her dream of teaching nursing. She is the director of the Dotson Bridge and Mentoring Program, Simmons’ diversity nursing program, and she recently earned her doctorate at Simmons. Christian is pleased that Professor Barbara Weatherford reached out to her when UMassD was planning to initiate its own Nursing Diversity Program. “I was able to give back in a small way some of the knowledge I learned as a student, and in my current position. I was very well prepared by UMass Dartmouth’s College of Nursing Community Health Master’s program,” said Christian. “The Diversity Nursing Scholars Program demonstrates a renewed commitment the College of Nursing has made to all students by increasing diversity in the healthcare system, thereby improving population health,” she said. “The strategies they use to achieve this goal are both innovative and creative.”
Bostick ’19 (right) looked up to us. By the end of helped create the DNS the day, they were comfortable ambassador program. asking us questions, and The student ambassadors many of them wanted to come plan, host, and promote to UMass Dartmouth for our programs and events to nursing program,” she said. benefit potential nursing The College of Nursing students. believes these initiatives will “After immersing have a significant impact myself in the DNS on the local community program, I like to think and beyond. The goal is to that I’ve become a leader. have nurses with a greater I’ve become extremely understanding of different involved in other clubs cultures, races, and socioand events on campus as economic backgrounds to well,” Danielle said. “The enhance medical access. DNS program has helped “Research has linked me build the confidence I health inequities to the lack need to be a self-sufficient of diversity and cultural student and, hopefully, a competence of the healthcare great nurse one day.” workforce,” Shaw said. Danielle has grown “UMass Dartmouth has an —Danielle Bostick to see herself as a role obligation to the public model through her involvement in the DNS to produce a culturally competent, diverse program. She first recognized it when students workforce of future nurses.” from New Bedford High School attended a workshop the ambassadors organized. by Marissa Matton ’14, MA ’17 “What really stood out was how the students
“I was able to give back in a small way some of the knowledge I learned as a student and in my current position.” — LaDonna Christian MSN ’07, PhD Associate Professor of Nursing Simmons College
“After immersing myself in the DNS program, I like to think that I’ve become a leader.”
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