MEMPHIS, Tenn. — On Dec. 12, there was an unusual excitement to the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) graduation ceremony for an Arlington mother and daughter.
Irma O. Jordan, who holds a doctorate in nursing practice (DNP), presented her daughter, Lisa Dawson, with her UTHSC diploma for earning a bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) degree.
Dr. Jordan has been affiliated with UT for 18 years in both clinical and academic roles. She has spent the past four years as an assistant professor in the Doctor of Nursing Practice Program at the UTHSC College of Nursing. As a triple UTHSC grad, she is no stranger to commencements. She earned her BSN in 1997, with the last class to graduate before the UTHSC RN to BSN program was suspended.
She went on to earn both her MSN (1998) and DNP (2010) at UTHSC.
Dawson, who lives in Midtown, is among the first group of nursing students to graduate from the BSN program since UTHSC reactivated its nursing baccalaureate in fall 2012.
She was among the 105 healthcare professionals who graduated in the winter commencement ceremony, held in the Second Floor Ballroom of the Memphis Cook Convention Center.
Dr. Jordan said, “With my role as a faculty member in the College of Nursing, I was concerned about Lisa being a student in the BSN program. I was concerned it would present challenges she would not have to deal with in another program. When Lisa and I discussed this, she told me, ‘If I’m going to do this, I want to attend the best nursing program available.’ I couldn’t argue with that.”
Over the 17-month, accelerated BSN program, Dawson, a single mother with twin boys, 7, and a daughter, 5, has described her life as overwhelming at times and always challenging.
Much of the time she’s had to operate despite chronic sleep deprivation, a common condition among nursing students. But she is quick to credit each UTHSC faculty member she has studied and trained under in the BSN-CNL (Clinical Nurse Leader) program.
“They have provided me not only with the knowledge to achieve my goal of being a nurse, but they are also great mentors,” Dawson said. “Faculty are approachable and available to the students, and it is evident they want us to succeed.”
Her mother added, “I have had the pleasure of hearing Lisa’s stories of faculty engagement with the students as they learned and experienced nursing. There are some faculty members who had Lisa in class and didn’t even know she was my daughter. They treated her just like every other BSN student – wonderfully. I am proud to be associated with these colleagues.”
What Dawson has found most profound is the impact nurses have on the lives of their patients.
“Nursing is not about the stuff we can do. It’s about caring for the person.”
For more information about UTHSC, visit www.uthsc.edu.
