Nursing professor loves job
Anna Altwies
Originally published 02:16 p.m., November 21, 2007
Updated 02:16 p.m., November 21, 2007
g at Emporia State University, Dr. Linda Adams-Wendling has already left her mark on the university.
Adams-Wendling, and associate professor of nursing, is one of the recipients of ESU’s You Make a Difference Award for the month of November.
“I love my job because every day I am privileged to be able to facilitate learning for our nursing students,” Adams-Wendling said. “I really enjoy the fact I am lucky enough to teach the nursing students when they first enter the program as sophomores, as juniors and as seniors…it is great to see it in nursing.”
Working with students is one of the things Adams-Wendling finds most rewarding about her job. The people who surround her on a daily basis — students, her colleagues, other university and nursing department staff — help her love what she does.
“Each day I am inspired by the students I interact with, the incredible faculty that I teach with and the positive environment of the campus,” she said. “I must admit that Sarah Tidwell and Dr. Jean DeDonder have been wonderful mentors for me. Our chair, Dr. Judith Calhoun has also been a great support and mentor in my development as an educator.”
Having not only made a difference at ESU, Adams-Wendling has also had an impact on the nursing profession. With a colleague, Cathy Pimple, she recently published a paper on hearing impairment in nursing facility residents. Currently she is working with DeDonder to write a National Institute of Health grant to conduct research on the workload in nursing homes.
Adams-Wendling has received several professional and honorary awards. She was inducted into Sigma Theta Tau National Honor Society in Nursing in 1998, and was named a Fellow in the American College Health Care Administrators. In 2005, she was nominated for Who’s Who in American Teachers, and last year was nominated for the LEAD Outstanding Advisor award.
In response to receiving this most recent award, Adams-Wendling said, “what a great feeling to know that you made a difference to someone.”
Her advice to encourage others to make a difference on campus: “Be involved and stay involved. Emporia State is a great university.”