Elizabeth “Ellis” Parker, MSN, RN-BC, CNE, CHSE is the recipient of the 2022 Jane Eleanor Knox Scholarship for the second year. Ellis is a doctoral candidate in the Doctor of Education in Nursing Education program at Teachers College, Columbia University in New York, NY. This scholarship is meaningful to Ellis as Dr. Knox obtained both her master’s and Doctoral degrees in Nursing Education at Teachers College.

After a brief foray in music education, Ellis obtained an associate degree in nursing at a community college before attending Western Governor’s University for the accelerated RN to MSN in leadership and management track and graduated with a Master’s in Nursing Management and Leadership. While enrolled, Ellis worked at the bedside and obtained certification in medical-surgical nursing.

Shortly after obtaining an MSN, Ellis felt a calling to education and believed particularly strongly that the field of nursing education lacks education experts. When hired as faculty in 2016, while a competent practitioner, Ellis had little background in education itself. With the help of a strong mentor, Ellis grew in the role of faculty and simulation facilitator in a Bachelor of Nursing program while seeking a doctoral program that matched her goals. Ellis chose to apply to Teachers College after an exhaustive search for a program that offered a terminal degree with a true focus on education in nursing.

Teachers College offered a program that did just that. Ellis was accepted and enrolled in 2019. In 2020, Ellis became a Certified Nurse Educator and had her first publication in Nursing Education Perspectives. In 2021, Ellis became a Certified Healthcare Simulation Educator. In August of 2022, Ellis will defend their dissertation proposal and (assuming it is approved) will begin research and data collection. The proposed title is, Simulation Prebriefing for Clinical Judgement in Prelicensure Nursing Students. Ultimately, this research will be the first step in understanding the impact of structured prebriefing methods with the hope to contribute to, or perhaps even establishing, a prebriefing framework.

Only through continuing education can they expand the capability of being able to enrich the learning environment. Beyond the role of faculty, Ellis also works as a content developer and accredited program director for a nursing education company. Teachers College has, and will continue to, expose Ellis to new ideas, collaborations, experiences, and methods that improve their practice. Furthermore, it has opened the door to future career possibilities including leadership arenas of tenure and directorship. Regardless of the position, their goal is to remain a lifelong learner.

“In times of change, learners inherit the earth while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.”- Eric Hoffer.