ABRN-Summer14

nursing
excellence in
education
Sharon
Moore
PhD, M.Ed., RN
Athabasca University
“Mobile learning is taking the world by storm.
Students can now access entire courses from their
mobile devices. Social media has changed the way
that education happens. Learning happens not only
in formal courses but also through social media
such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.”
Dr. Sharon Moore has been a nurse for 37 years and a
formal nursing educator for 34 of those years. As a professor
of Nursing and Health Studies for Athabasca University,
Dr. Sharon Moore teaches registered nurses advanced
theory and skills in mental health and gerontology as well as
supervising RNs and other health professionals in graduate
studies.
“As a teacher I must walk the walk. If I teach that
caring is a core value in nursing, I must be willing to
practise caring as a teacher... be willing to encourage
and walk alongside my students at various times in
their educational journeys.”
Beyond her teaching responsibilities, Sharon is involved
at the university level with the General Faculties Council,
Academic Policy and Planning Committee, and the Graduate
Student Conference.
Outside of Athabasca University, the Canadian Coalition for
Seniors’ Mental Health utilizes Sharon’s program planning
abilities. She was co-lead in developing national guidelines
for the Assessment and Prevention of Suicide in Older Adults
and co-developed a Late Life Suicide Prevention Toolkit.
“Technology has moved education into a global
endeavour.”
Sharon also teaches informally by imparting health and
nutrition skills to grandmothers in Uganda and volunteering
in Nepal, Africa and India. She has been a keynote speaker
at conferences in various parts of Canada as well as in Kenya,
Norway and Uganda.
Sharon’s success in education is largely due to her creative
and innovative arts-based teaching approaches and her innate
ability to reach learners wherever they are – geographically and
emotionally.
“Hope can help set your sail in difficult times. You can
borrow it and you can lend it.”
28
Alberta RN Summer 2014 Volume 70 No 2
www.nurses.ab.ca
Trudie Lee PHOTOGRAPHY