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M C M A

RECENT MOVES IN NURSING COLLEGE MET WITH 'SADNESS'

by Diane Ditto and Lori Brown

Graduate students enrolled in the master's of nursing Adult Nurse Practitioner program learned this week that coordinator Dr. Linda Steele is to be replaced. This news was met with great sadness, dismay and not a little anger since this move clearly is not in the best interest of the ANP program or its students, the recent upheaval and political maneuverings in the UM-St. Louis School of Nursing notwithstanding.

Steele's removal as ANP program coordinator makes little sense, given her wealth of experience and skill as both an educator and clinician.

Her extensive knowledge of practice, legal and educational issues in advanced practice nursing from some 20 years' experience in the field has proved invaluable to students as they enter today's rapidly changing health care arena.

A truly gifted educator, Steele supports learning among her students at several levels, from involving them in her research and publication projects, to precepting them in the clinical setting. Students continually receive encouragement to produce and showcase their best efforts.

This kind of leadership simply cannot be replaced.

It is disturbing that Jerry Durham, dean of the School of Nursing, would make what appears to be a unilateral decision in view of the great respect Steele has earned among not only her students but also those in the ANP community.

Our personal experience with Steele ranks her among the finest instructors we have had the pleasure of knowing and learning from - in both graduate and undergraduate studies. Losing Steele's leadership in the ANP program deals yet another serious blow to UM-St. Louis's already-battered nursing program.