Guest Speaker Beth Rodgers Addresses the Future of Nursing
Beth Rodgers, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, professor and interim chair of Research and Ph.D. Studies at the University of New Mexico College of Nursing, lectured on nursing theory at the School of Nursing on Wednesday, Aug. 13. Rodgers presented on the topic “If We Only Walk Long Enough … Achieving Nursing’s Preferred Future Through Knowledge and Theory Development.” Taking her title from Lewis Carroll’s “Through the Looking Glass,” Rodgers compared the future of nursing to Alice asking the Cheshire Cat for directions to “somewhere.”
Rodgers called for nurses to form a strong self-identity and to push for their own desired future and reforms – to define where that “somewhere” is instead of having outside influences define it for them. Rodgers explained, “We need to be driven by who we are and who we think we can be.” By taking nursing theory from a dreaded class to a practical application in everyday situations, future nurses will be active leaders who stand up for their ideas because “theory is being able to think and to connect the dots,” said Rodgers. This will help the discipline of nursing arrive at its preferred future, she said.
Renowned for her work in nursing knowledge, concept and theory development, Rodgers is the author of two widely used textbooks in this area. She has also consulted extensively on Ph.D. nursing programs and for faculty development related to theory and scholarly thinking throughout the curriculum.
Categories Education, Faculty and Staff, Uncategorized