Friday, September 02, 2005

Wilmington, N.C. – To give you an idea of how far Melissa Beacham has come since her days as a student at University of North Carolina Wilmington, the office phone she answers and the desk she sits at once belonged to Adrienne Jackson, one of her former undergraduate nursing instructors. Current school of nursing dean Virginia Adams and faculty member Perri Bomar signed off on her master’s project.

UNCW proudly welcomes alumna Beacham to the School of Nursing as a lecturer and coordinator of the simulation lab. She earned both a BSN (1996) and an MSN (2000) from UNCW. Dean Adams recalls, “When I arrived in 1994, Melissa had just entered the upper division nursing program and was one of my first students. When I started the graduate program, Melissa was one of my first students. That is a phenomenon.”

Beacham will be teaching junior, senior and graduate nurse practitioner students health assessment skills. As sim lab coordinator, she is responsible for the instruction, management, and coordination of traditional, technology-driven, and clinical simulation learning experiences. She will oversee the educational development of faculty regarding integrating simulation into the curriculum.

When asked how it feels to make the transition from student to faculty, Beacham coins herself a member of the “sandwich generation faculty,” meaning the experience of being a student is still fresh in her mind and the current students are looking at her as the expert. She says, “The average age of UNCW nursing students is 21. Having had the experience of being a 21 year-old nursing student in this program and now bringing the experience I have had as a practicing RN, I have empathy for the student without experience as an RN and wants to get there. As an alum, I have a unique perspective to lend the students as to where they are and where they will end up.”

Adams says the SON is, “thrilled to have Melissa back to work with our students. She brings current clinical practice experience and the perspective of UNCW SON graduate to pre-licensure students. As a student, she was a leader on the state and national levels. She has a retrospective view and prospective focus that can instantly connect students from theory to practice. Because she is so close in age to many of the students, she is more likely to teach to their learning style. It is a perfect match. I have purposely attached her to a master teacher and they are working well together.”

After graduating from UNCW and thinking she never wanted to work in a nursing home, Beacham worked for two years as an administrative RN in a skilled nursing home and loved it. So much so, that after obtaining her master’s degree, she spent the next five years working as an FNP in skilled nursing homes, assisted living facilities and in the office setting.

Beacham is glad to see the current nursing students are required to attain their CNA license prior to enrollment in the SON, a policy that was not in place when she was an undergraduate. She feels this requirement makes for better use of the students’ time once they are in the program. Admitting students twice a year is a new addition that will allow more students into the program to help with the nursing shortage.

The UNCW SON offers NLNAC and CCNE accredited undergraduate and graduate degree programs in Nursing and non-nursing Bachelor of Science Degree in Clinical Research.

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