Dr. Paula McWilliam is new Director of Nursing
Aug 9, 2018
Dr. Paula McWilliam will become Director of Nursing at Franklin Pierce University effective September 1, 2018. Dr. McWilliam served as Interim Director for the past year, and prior to that she was Associate Professor of Nursing for two years. In her new role, she will oversee faculty for students earning their undergraduate or graduate degrees in nursing.
“Dr. Paula McWilliam has demonstrated a passion for education and research that permeates the rest of the faculty,” said Dr. Maria Altobello, Dean of the College of Graduate and Professional Studies at Franklin Pierce University. “She is a strong mentor to faculty and students, and her deep understanding the landscape of the nursing profession is essential to the design and development of nursing education programs. We are very fortunate to have someone of her caliber among our faculty.”
McWilliam is an expert in curriculum design and clinical practice. She holds a Doctor of Education from Nova Southeastern University, a Master of Science in Nursing – Perinatal and Neonatal Health from the State University of New York, and a Baccalaureate in Nursing from Barry University.
Her primary teaching areas include nursing theory, leadership, assessing competence in nursing education, and the capstone experience. She has worked as a nursing professor for over 15 years. Prior to joining academia, McWilliam spent 10 years as a practicing neonatal nurse practitioner at John Hopkins All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida.
McWilliam is also an Affiliate Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of New Hampshire. She has extensive experience in assessing simulation methodologies and technologies used in healthcare education as a means of developing and maintaining clinical competency. Over the past nine years, she has conducted evaluative research and secondary data analysis in medical education-simulation training methodologies, such as High Fidelity Simulation and Virtual Reality Simulation. Her clinical research over the past five years has expanded to include exploring methods to measure, acquire and store the kinematics and force trajectory during invasive procedures performed in medicine, such as neonatal intubation.
