Dr. Nina Ouimette was named the new dean of the Patty Hanks Shelton School of Nursing last month, a position she will take on in addition to her role as associate professor of nursing.
Ouimette, a pediatrics and informatics nurse and a faculty member of the Nursing School for almost ten years, was chosen as the new dean in August. She will replace Dr. Carly Dodd, professor of communication, who served as a transitional member after the previous dean resigned.
“Nina is a great teacher,” said Dodd. “She’s just a great, professional person. She has a heart for her field and students and a passion for nursing in that sense. She really lives it and believes it in a way that makes her exceptional.”
Ouimette’s role as dean involves working with accreditation boards, mentoring to faculty, maintaining good relations with local health care systems and carrying out administrative duties for program development, said Ouimette. She said she will also recruit and develop faculty, as well as teach graduate and undergraduate nursing students in instructional methods, research and theory, and obstetrics and pediatrics education.
“I have been at the school for ten years, and my heart is with the school,” Ouimette said. “I want to match the caring which is at the heart of nursing with the sterile technology that is required in the world where [students] graduate.”
Ouimette said her focus as the new dean is on the program’s mission to train nurses to minister to families globally. She said she also looks forward to preparing nurses for the 21st century in a technologically enhanced work environment.
The Nursing School, located next to Hendrick Medical Center, is an intercollegiate nursing program operated by ACU, Hardin-Simmons University and McMurry University. The program is designed for graduate students in pursuit of a nursing degree. Students in the program obtain their license upon completion of two years of graduate schooling. About 150 undergraduate and 55 graduate students from Abilene’s three universities are currently enrolled in the program.
