New Nursing Instructor Brings Wealth of Experience
Posted on 10/12/2009
A registered nurse since 1974, Peggy Lee has worked in many different settings. She's been a nursing supervisor at hospitals, an obstetric nurse, a pediatric nurse, a medical-surgical nurse, director of nursing at a nursing home, a clinic nurse for health units, and a home-health and hospice nurse.
Now, she's bringing that experience to students in the Eleanor Mann School of Nursing at the University of Arkansas. Lee joined the faculty of the College of Education and Health Professions in August, teaching the Foundations course for beginning students. She also spends four mornings a week supervising students while they work at Washington Regional Medical Center in Fayetteville.
"It's important that students cultivate critical thinking skills because nothing is going to happen like the book says it's going to happen," Lee said. "I want to see students work through situations they are faced with daily and be able to make better decisions. I'm also looking for students who really care about people. Caring for people is the heart of nursing. The best nurses are the ones who view the patients holistically and don't get so involved in the skills that they perform."
Lee, a native of Mississippi, has also worked as a nurse-educator in several places while pursuing her own higher education. She taught in the practical nursing program at Mississippi Delta Community College while working on her baccalaureate degree in nursing. A nontraditional student at Mississippi College in Clinton, she worked full time while attending classes at night and doing weekend clinical rotations in Jackson, Miss., where she received her baccalaureate degree in nursing.
She taught at Delta State University at Cleveland, Miss., where she developed the RN to BSN program. It served students throughout the state of Mississippi. She continued her education at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, where she earned a master's degree in nursing. Her areas of expertise are community health and nurse management.
Lee's family then moved to Russellville, where she earned promotion and tenure as an associate professor of nursing at Arkansas Tech University. The past three years, she chaired the nursing department at the University of Arkansas Community College at Morrilton. Because of her extensive management experience, Lee plans to begin a doctoral program in higher education now that she is in Fayetteville.
Lee and her family are enthusiastic Razorback fans. Daughter Lindsey is the featured twirler with the Razorback Marching Band. Lee and her husband, Charles, also have a son, Brad, who is a graduate of the University of Arkansas School of Law and works for the state of Missouri.
Lee and her husband attend home and away Razorback football games. They are also involved in another of their daughter's interests – the Miss America Scholarship Pageant System. Lindsey has competed in the Miss Arkansas pageant and is the reigning Miss Frisco Springs. The Lees work in the pageant preliminary system, helping the contestants with mock interviews and talent preparation.
A member of the Arkansas Nurses Association and the American Nurses Association, Lee is also involved with the American Heart Association.
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