Pair recognized for graduate and undergraduate teaching excellence

Two York nursing professors have won provincial awards for innovative and excellent teaching.

At its fourth annual awards ceremony Saturday, the Council of Ontario Universities Programs in Nursing (COUPN) presented Patricia Bradley with the Teaching Innovation Award and Christine Jonas-Simpson with the Excellence in Teaching Award.

Above: York nursing Professors Christine Jonas-Simpson (left) and Pat Bradley

The awards are presented each year to nursing faculty, students, staff and health program partners from across the province who have made outstanding contributions to nursing education. Nominations are made by students, staff and faculty members of the province’s nursing programs. COUPN presented 10 awards this year.

Bradley, coordinator of York’s Internationally Educated Nurses Program, joined York’s School of Nursing in 2007 and brings decades of experience to her teaching. She won recognition for her innovative use of multimedia and online tools to help her students succeed.

“Dr. Bradley is always thinking, teaching and learning,” wrote Andria Phillips, a graduate student whom Bradley supervised in a teaching practicum, in her citation. “Whether it’s linking thoughts to pop culture, [asking] if changes can be made to improve the situation, offering guidance in finding solutions or linking your issue to current issues/best practices, she always has something new and interesting to offer to a conversation.”

Bradley “has made exceptional contributions in the classroom, to student supervision and to the overall teaching culture in the School of Nursing and the Faculty of Health,” wrote her nominator, Professor Karin Page-Cutrara, undergraduate program director in York’s School of Nursing. “Her pedagogical practices in online environments that support graduate student engagement, learning and success, and her innovative programming devised to assist undergraduate students in writing the Canadian Registered Nurses Examination are of particular note.” Page-Cutrara also cited among Bradley’s teaching-related contributions her participation in the Faculty of Health’s Health, Leadership & Learning Network, research at York, and national and international conferences.

Jonas-Simpson, who has taught undergraduate and graduate nursing courses at York since 2007, was recognized for demonstrating excellence and making consistent efforts to propel the critical-thinking abilities of her students.

“I can confidently say that as an educator, Professor Jonas-Simpson has had the most significant and lasting impact towards my development as a professional nurse,” wrote undergraduate Catherine Valle in the citation. “She has the incredible ability to create a learning environment that is innovative, supportive and inspiring. [She] inspires her students through her lived experiences of nursing while connecting them to the theoretical foundations of the course.”

Colleagues also recognized Jonas-Simpson’s passion and dedication to enhancing nursing education. Professor Ros Woodhouse, academic director of the Centre for the Support of Teaching, wrote: “I have worked with individuals, groups and programs in health and health professional education for over 15 years (at the University of Toronto, Queen’s University and York University). In my experience, Dr. Jonas-Simpson demonstrates outstanding commitment to her students’ learning and excellence in every aspect of her teaching.”

By Rebecca Bitton, work-study communications assistant, Faculty of Health

Republished courtesy of YFile – York University’s daily e-bulletin.