Dr. Pamela Reed Earns Most Inspirational Mentor Award
University of Arizona College of Nursing professor Pamela Reed, PhD, RN, FAAN, was recently honored with the Tucson Nurses Week Foundation’s Most Inspirational Mentor Award for her efforts serving as a role model, advocate and motivator in support of new nurses. Dr. Reed also is the associate dean of academic affairs at the college.
“It’s an award that I will especially cherish,” said Dr. Reed, “But it’s not about me as much as it is a reflection of the superb students who have come to the College of Nursing, and the faculty and staff who have supported me in my teaching.”
Pamela Reed, PhD, RN, FAAN
Author and co-author of more than 100 publications, Dr. Reed’s research has focused on well-being and mental health across the lifespan, spirituality at end-of-life, and moral distress and ethical concerns of frontline caregivers and terminally ill individuals. Her current scholarship focuses on nursing theory, philosophy and scientific knowledge development, and work on intermodernism as a philosophy of nursing science. Dr. Reed also is a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing and has been a visiting scholar at several institutions, including New York University and Duke University.
Dr. Reed’s philosophy of teaching is well-suited to providing guidance to students seeking role models. “I have a lifespan developmental perspective of the learning process, where teaching is a process of educing, or bringing out ideas and abilities inherent in the student, along with providing resources, guidance and encouragement for students to learn certain content, yes, but mostly to acquire tools for thinking, for inquiry and for seeing the world in new ways,” said Dr. Reed.
Dr. Reed said her ability to help students clarify and develop their particular area of inquiry is of utmost importance. Her goal is “to do all this in a way that stimulates their curiosity and brings joy, if not excitement, to their learning process.”
She said that mission brings her joy as well as meaning. “I approach this responsibility with a sense of respect and awe and appreciation of students with a commitment to my own continued learning about what I teach students, and with an openness to questioning the status quo,” she said.
A version of this story was originally published by the College of Nursing.