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| Tonya Pankey, ANC Associate Degree Nursing Program Director |
Tonya Pankey,
Arkansas Northeastern College Director of Nursing Has Been Named Certified
Nurse Educator
NLN
Program Highlights Standout Nurse Faculty
Blytheville, Arkansas – The Arkansas Northeastern
College Associate Degree Nursing Program is pleased to announce that its
Director Tonya Pankey has earned the designation Certified Nurse Educator (CNE)
after meeting strict eligibility criteria and successfully completing a
rigorous certification examination developed and administered by the National
League for Nursing.
Blytheville native, Tonya
Pankey graduated from ANC (formerly Mississippi County Community College) in
1990 with an Associate of Applied Science Degree in Nursing before earning her
Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing in 1999. In 2009, she completed the
Master of Science Degree in Nursing with a focus in Nursing Education. Prior to
becoming an educator, she spent time working in the field in the areas of
oncology, home care and hospice, and case management. She was named in the Top
100 Nurses in Shelby and Fayette Counties, Tennessee, in 2006.
Because of her success in
the nursing field, Ms. Pankey was named as Arkansas Northeastern College’s
Distinguished Alumni in 2011. That same year, she came back to the College as
an instructor in the Associate Degree Nursing Program. She was promoted to the
director of the program in August, 2013.
Ms. Pankey is married to Danny, pastor of Ruddle road Church of God in
Blytheville, where she volunteers as a Sunday School teacher and church
pianist. They have three children, sons Caleb and Joshua live in Fayetteville
and their daughter Katie Beth is a senior at Blytheville High School.
In her spare time, Ms.
Pankey enjoys reading and spending time with family and friends. She is a
devoted teacher who chose to take on the difficult task of becoming a Certified
Nurse Educator because she is committed to her profession and viewed the
accomplishment as a personal success and a display of “best practices” for her
students.
“Ms. Pankey’s
dedication to her profession is a testament to the quality of the Arkansas
Northeastern College’s Nursing Program. Becoming certified in any field is a
mark of professionalism. Ms. Pankey’s
efforts to become a Certified Nursing Instructor communicates to students,
peers, and the academic and health care communities that the highest standards
of excellence are being met,” stated ANC President Dr. James Shemwell.
“The NLN’s Academic Nurse Educator Certification program
has conferred new visibility and stature upon the academic nursing community
that is long overdue,” said Dr. Beverly Malone, CEO
of the NLN. “Through the certification program, we have made clear to the ranks
of higher education that the role of nurse educator is an advanced professional
practice discipline with a defined practice setting and demonstrable standards
of excellence.” In years to come, she added, it is hoped that certified nurse
educators will command higher salaries and be first in line for promotions and
tenure.
The newly certified nurse educators reflect the
spectrum of their academic colleagues in the United States:
·
33 percent hold
doctoral degrees; the remainder master’s degrees
·
43 percent
teach in baccalaureate or higher degree programs; 40 percent in associate degree
programs; 5 percent in diploma programs; and 2 percent in practical/vocational
nursing programs
·
28 percent hold
the rank of assistant professor; 15 percent associate professor; 14 percent
full professor
·
50 percent have
more than ten years of full time employment experience as academic nurse
educators
There are now more than 4,000 certified nursing
educators in the continental United States. Many academic nursing programs in
colleges and university settings have recognized the importance of the certification
and encourage all eligible nursing faculty to become certified.
With nearly half (42.8 percent) of nurse faculty
projected to retire within the next decade and nearly three-quarters (69.7
percent) within 15 years, replacing them is of grave concern, to nursing and
nursing education.
Editors and reporters: For interview opportunities, please contact NLN
chief communications officer, Karen R. Klestzick, at 212-812-0376, kklestzick@nln.org.
Dedicated to excellence in nursing, the National
League for Nursing is the premier organization for nurse faculty and leaders in
nursing education. The NLN offers faculty development, networking
opportunities, testing services, nursing research grants, and public policy
initiatives to its 37,000 individual and more than 1,200 institutional members
comprising nursing education programs across the spectrum of higher education
and health care organizations.
