Brownie, MSN, RN
Promotion in Rank Narrative Summary
The purpose of this narrative summary is to provide rationale and evidence to support my
request for promotion in rank from Instructor to Assistant Professor effective Academic Year
2019-2020. I have been with Bon Secours for 23 years; the last three years in Endoscopy were
spent as the Educator for Bon Secours Richmond Endoscopy. In this role I was responsible for
staff development across the Richmond Market which also included coordinating the Annual
Bon Secours Richmond Endoscopy Conference with the highest attendance at the conference
being approximately 125 participants. Education is a piece I have always enjoyed doing as part
of my job role.
When I was looking at where my goals would take me, I realized that completing my
Master’s degree in Nursing Education would help me attain these goals. In the Fall of 2016, I
began my career as a Faculty member with the Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing. This
opportunity has allowed me to share my nursing knowledge with young nursing students that I
am helping to develop. I have had many opportunities to learn and grow in my current position
contributes as a student, teacher and a learner and I believe that all students are individual and
each one learns in their own unique way. As I develop my teaching style, I think about the
different ways I present the content to make sure all of the students understand what is being
taught. In my classes I teach using the Socratic method, encouraging questions to stimulate
thinking. I feel that questions are an important way for students to learn and grow their critical
thinking skills. I have found that by facilitating discussions between students the explanations
1
Kimberly A. Brownie, MSN, RN
Promotion in Rank Narrative Summary
provided by students can be more valuable than my own explanation. I want students to have the
opportunity to think about the answer before I provide them this answer. I believe this is
important because students need to be able to use their resources to gather information and
translate that data into practice. I use a variety of active learning strategies, including group
work, hands on practice/ activities and lecture. These active learning strategies have been
documented in the literature as a means to involve the student in their learning. (See supporting
documentation/ article).
I started my time with the College of Nursing in the Fall 2016 semester teaching
Competencies for Nursing Practice I. As a new faculty member to this course, I was given the
responsibility as being Practicum Lead. This presented me with some challenges that included
knowing who to contact at the hospital to arrange practicum observations for the students,
implementing the dosage calculation (medication math) ATI modules, and collaboration with the
CSC staff. The first semester as advised, I did not make changes to the course, I taught the
course as it had been given to me. During the Fall 2016 semester, I taught three of the four
sections of the course and was practicum lead. I looked at the material to see what adjustments I
could make while still presenting the required information in a clear concise manner. I was also
given the responsibility of implementing the dosage calculation modules in ATI. I was provided
a schedule for implementation of these modules. (See supporting documentation) During post-
conference, faculty spends time discussing the dosage calculation modules related to the modules
the students are currently working on. During the semester, the students also take two practice
Medication Math tests, faculty provide additional support for those students not passing the test
by reviewing and/ or meeting with the students one on one to focus on student needs. These
2
Kimberly A. Brownie, MSN, RN
Promotion in Rank Narrative Summary
modules are intended to help students with their medication math and prepare them to take and
successfully pass the Med Math Test (MCAT) in their Adult Nursing Science II (ANS II) course.
In addition I developed guidelines with the help of Amy Feurer, Pre-Licensure Coordinator, for
students who do not complete assigned ATI modules as directed. (See supporting
documentation)
During the Spring 2017 semester of teaching this course I began updating some of the
power point presentations to include current videos. Faculty were previously recording student
completion of assigned ATI modules in the Blackboard grade book after the faculty member ran
a completion report in ATI. This was time consuming and faculty had to run several reports to
see if all of their students had completed the ATI modules. I have made this process more
efficient by creating assignments in Blackboard. Once the students have completed the assigned
modules the student will upload a completion certificate for each module completed in the
appropriate assignment tab in Blackboard. This now means that the faculty only has to go into
the grade book to verify and grade that the students have completed the assigned modules. (See
supporting documentation).
Another improvement that I have made to the course includes moving some of the
content from a very full week (Week 10) to the following week (Week 11) in which there was
room for additional content. (See supporting documentation) In moving this content, I was able
to provide time for the students to practice their medication administration simulation with
additional time using the medium fidelity manikins and the sim pad. The observer tool is now
introduced to the students at this time. The observer tool is used during simulations to provide
peer to peer feedback to those participating in the simulation. (See supporting documentation)
During this time, the students rotate through three stations: practice medication administration
3
Kimberly A. Brownie, MSN, RN
Promotion in Rank Narrative Summary
simulation, medication administration of other types of medications, and a skills station. The
practice medication simulation allows the student to practice administering medications to the
manikin in the CSC lab while being able to ask questions and get feedback as they go through
the simulation from the instructor prior to going in to the unfamiliar simulation environment.
other routes: topical, inhaled, rectal, ophthalmic and otic medications. The third station is a self-
directed station that includes practice inserting a nasogastric tube, continuous tube feeding with
the kangaroo feeding pump, obtaining a urine sample from a urinary catheter, and drawing up
insulin based on the chosen blood glucose level. These are all skills that the students need more
practice in performing. To achieve this task of moving content from one week to another, I had
several meetings with the CSC staff to coordinate. I also requested feedback from the other
faculty members to get their thoughts on what skills to place in this week. I drafted the
instructions for each of the stations and sent them to the other faculty for feedback. Once faculty
approved the instructions, I then sent them to the CSC staff to prepare the lab. (See supporting
documentation) This worked well in the 2017 – 2018 AY. Moving the content allowed the
students the extra practice they needed to be successful in the medication administration
simulation.
In the Spring of 2018, I again met with the CSC staff to discuss moving content around in
several of the weeks, specifically weeks five and seven. Moving this content around means that
the students will receive education on nutrition and how to document intake and output earlier in
the semester so the students can then perform these tasks earlier while in the clinical setting. In
doing this, I moved the specimen collection piece to Week 7 allowing the faculty time to teach
4
Kimberly A. Brownie, MSN, RN
Promotion in Rank Narrative Summary
Nutrition, Intake and Output in Week 5. (See supporting documentation) This was implemented
To help with the transition from Sophomore II to Junior I, I met with the Junior I
practicum lead to find out what the students need. With this information, I created a list of basic
medical equipment for the NUR 2103P faculty to review with the students while in the practicum
setting (See supporting documentation). During post-conference, I also discuss topics related to
nursing diagnoses and care plans to help prepare the students for the transition. When setting up
their Connect Care charts, I include information that will be relevant to their Junior I semester.
This will help decrease the amount of time spent by the Junior I faculty in getting charts set up
As part of my responsibilities of being practicum lead, I would follow up with the faculty
teaching this course and request feedback to any changes I made. I would take this into
consideration when adjusting the lab schedules. To help with practicum time, I would
communicate with the managers for Respiratory, Rehabilitation services, and Wound Care to
schedule the students for observation experiences during their time at the hospital. At this time,
the students have an observation scheduled with Rehab and Wound Care. Due to staffing
concerns with Respiratory Therapy, they are not able to accommodate students at this time. I
prepare the rotation schedule for each of the sections and send it to the faculty. This work
includes reaching out to each of the managers where students will be placed to let them know
that students will be coming to their unit and provide the department manager with the name of
the faculty member that will be on their unit. In addition to the previous items I also schedule
rooms for post-conference at the appropriate facility. During post-conference, the faculty
provides education on specific topics such as medication administration. Each section meets as a
5
Kimberly A. Brownie, MSN, RN
Promotion in Rank Narrative Summary
group together during post-conference to provide the same information to all students in NUR
2103P. I meet with the CSC staff several times throughout the year to make improvements or
adjustments to the course as needed. This includes spending time going through each of the
procedure cards to make sure the correct supplies are available and removing or updating
supplies or equipment as needed. Together with the CSC staff, we evaluate what worked and
what did not work with changes made to the lab. This academic year NUR 2103P is meeting in
the new CSC 8 skills lab. I am providing feedback related to missing items or arrangement of
lab as things come up. My role as practicum lead for NUR 2103P has allowed me to make
improvements to the course which include, assignment submissions, updating power points with
current information, and adjusting content within the course to improve the overall goal of the
course.
I began teaching NUR 1101 in Spring 2017. NUR 1101 was a pilot program that
included teaching the orientation course and advising. The plan for this course is that faculty
advisors that can be “experts” in the field. As a faculty member in this course, I will build my
advising load each semester and as the students graduate I will add new advisees. This
addition to my advisees from the orientation course, I gained four advisees from a former faculty
member.
As part of the development of NUR 1101, I assisted with developing the content for
several weeks in the semester. (See supporting documentation) This provided me the
6
Kimberly A. Brownie, MSN, RN
Promotion in Rank Narrative Summary
opportunity to build the lesson plan for the day and how to deliver the content that needed to be
covered. During the Spring 2017 semester, I worked closely with Amy Feurer and Arlene
Holowaychuk, faculty teaching this course. Together we worked to make sure that the students
received information that would help them navigate nursing school. This included information
such as test taking strategies, APA formatting, time management skills and college resources.
We would meet regularly to review information and adjust teaching methods or topics as needed.
As a faculty member for NUR 1101, I have had the opportunity to work closely with the
Office of Student Success and Student Services. Under this new model, I attend intake advising
with Student Services. This is a collaborative effort in providing needed information to the new
students entering the program. This is also my first opportunity to meet those new students that
will become my advisees the following semester. As a new advisor, I have had many challenges
to work through and have learned to reach out to my resources to help provide the best possible
support to our students. For the Fall 2017 semester, we added an additional faculty member to
NUR 1101. As a group of four, we meet with the Director of Student Services and the Academic
Advisors several times throughout the academic year. During this time, we discuss topics that
are relevant to advising and how to handle student situations we may face.
In the Spring of 2018, Arlene and I were the two faculty teaching the Orientation course
with each of us having two sections each. We would meet regularly to discuss the course and
make any needed adjustments to be able to better support the students. As we prepared for the
new 2018-2019 Academic Year, we had several meetings to adjust course content. These
meetings were also in preparation for merging the Sophomore I and Sophomore II semesters into
7
Kimberly A. Brownie, MSN, RN
Promotion in Rank Narrative Summary
I began teaching NUR 2101 in Fall 2017 in collaboration with Deanna Allison. This has
been my first three hour didactic class with a recitation. There have been many learning
opportunities for me during this course. We met on a weekly basis to review the course content
and any upcoming assignments. We worked closely to make sure that our sections align with
each other. If I made adjustments to my section or found additional information or videos to use
during my class time, I would send the information to Deanna for her to use in her class. As an
example, in week seven, I felt like something was missing and that there should be more
information relevant to the topic to help reinforce the information. I found several videos
including an ATI video on client education and a video related to the teach-back method. The
activity I included discussed assessing health literacy called the Newest Vital Sign. (See
supporting documentation) I sent this information to Deanna for her use in her section as
additional information.
During the Fall 2017 semester we began phasing out scantron test and moving toward
ExamSoft testing software. I attended several education sessions on the use of ExamSoft and
Examplify. For test review, I had Deanna attended my first session so that I could observe how
to facilitate a test review with the class and have had successful test reviews following the initial
one. This course continues to be a work in progress for me and I am gaining more confidence as
In Spring 2018, I was a part of the NUR 2101 pilot group for the ExamSoft testing
software. This required new education for the faculty as well as training for the students. This
testing software allows the students to test on their own laptops using a secure testing platform.
8
Kimberly A. Brownie, MSN, RN
Promotion in Rank Narrative Summary
Using this software the students have the ability to have test review in a secure environment,
allowing them to review the test but also see the correct answers and rationales for each of the
questions. Test review using this format allows the students to discuss questions and help each
other understand why the answer they chose is correct or incorrect. ExamSoft and Examplify are
currently being used throughout the program. During the NUR 1101 Orientation class, I
participated in the initial training of the new students that began Fall 2018 and am currently an
As a new faculty member, I was assigned a course mentor to help me navigate my way
through teaching a course. In the Spring of 2017 I became the course mentor for Angel Daniels
for NUR 2103P. Together we taught three of the four sections. I guided her through this course
as my mentor had done the previous semester with me. I felt we had a very successful semester
and worked very well together. I am grateful for this opportunity to share my knowledge with a
faculty advisor for those students assigned to my section of NUR 1101. This has allowed me the
opportunity to advise and build relationships with the pre-licensure students. Advising is a new
role for me and has brought some new challenges as well as learning opportunities for me. I
have worked closely with Student Success and the Academic Advisors to gain confidence and
When I started at the college, I was assigned to the Faculty Development Committee. As
a member of this committee I became the Faculty Development Committee Representative to the
9
Kimberly A. Brownie, MSN, RN
Promotion in Rank Narrative Summary
Practicum Learning Community. As the representative to the learning community, I assisted the
Administrative liaison, Arlene Holowaychuk with planning and facilitating the meetings. (See
supporting documentation) During AY2016-17, the Practicum Learning Community was able to
review and update six practicum simulations. I was also a part of the sub-committee that
developed the Home Health Diabetes Simulation for ANS I. (See supporting documentation)
This required multiple meetings with the CSC staff and the staff that would be running the
simulation with students in ANS I. We developed the objectives and the rubric to use during the
simulation. The CSC staff did a dry run with faculty in Spring 2017 and then did the dress
rehearsal in Fall 2017. This simulation also requires the use of a standardized patient, which will
be new for most students. The simulation ran for the first time in Fall 2017 with the ANS I
practicum. The overall faculty and student feedback received was positive. There were several
suggestions from the faculty debriefing session for improvement to the simulation. Examples
include: the observer tool did not work well for a home health visit, patient medications needed
to be added to the admission ticket, more defined student roles, and the Katz index of
While working with the practicum learning community, the group was tasked with
developing a new practicum evaluation tool. The group narrowed down what needed to be
within the tool. Arlene and I worked with the group and once we had developed a draft for the
new tool this information was shared with administration for feedback. In taking the lead on this
project I worked closely with the practicum learning community and administration to
incorporate the ideas of both groups into one tool. Once a draft was developed it was taken to
the Curriculum Committee for feedback. The first trip to the Curriculum Committee provided
the group with questions that needed to be answered before we would be able to get approval.
10
Kimberly A. Brownie, MSN, RN
Promotion in Rank Narrative Summary
There were struggles at times within the learning community and meeting the expectations for
the practicum evaluation tool. After several revisions to the evaluation tool approval was
obtained from administration and the evaluation tool was taken back to the Curriculum
Committee with final approval granted in August 2017. The new practicum evaluation will be
used in the following courses beginning Fall 2107: 2103P, 3104P, 311P, 3112P, and 4143P.
(See supporting documentation) The Curriculum Collaborative group completed the remaining
practicum evaluation tools during AY 2017-2018. All practicum evaluation tools have been
In July 2017, I attended the RAM trip to Wise County, VA. I decided to volunteer for the
trip in order to share what talents and experiences I could with the nursing students. Prior to the
trip I read the books Hillbilly Elegy and Yesterdays People. Both of these books provided me a
better understanding of the types of people that I may come across during the trip to Wise
County. On the way to RAM we stopped at the Exhibition Coal Mine in Beckley, WV for a tour
of the old mine to see how the coal miners lived and worked. We were also lucky enough to be
able to see what the coal mines of today look like and a bit about how they operate. Being
immersed in the culture helped me to better understand how the people of Wise County live and
where they come from. During this trip, I assisted the nursing students with triaging the many
patients that came to the RAM Clinic for medical care. I worked beside Lida (nursing student)
while she triaged patients in the medical triage area. We had the opportunity to connect with
patients and work to meet their needs and aid them in getting the care that they needed. After
going to RAM, I realized how lucky we are to live in an area where people have access to needed
health care. The people that came to RAM traveled from across the area, came the day or days
before just to get in line to get this much needed health care. Some slept in their car or in tents
11
Kimberly A. Brownie, MSN, RN
Promotion in Rank Narrative Summary
just to make sure they were able to get a spot in line to see a doctor. In a country where health
care is available, why do so many people have to struggle to get the care they need and deserve?
In the end, I feel I received so much more than I feel I gave while at the clinic.
In July 2018, I again attended the RAM clinic in Wise County, VA. This trip included
three faculty and 10 Students (two RN-BSN and eight BSN) from the BSMCON. In additional
to the college, there was one faculty member and one student from the School of Medical
Imaging. The students attending the RAM trip this year were receiving credit for the NUR
4116P course. As part of this experience, the faculty met with each student and completed a
mid-trip evaluation and then the students completed a post trip evaluation in addition to other
required course work. Everyone on the trip worked well together and brought a different
perspective to what we were involved in at the clinic and had some great learning experiences.
In addition to the academic service mention above I hold current memberships with the
National League for Nursing (NLN), National Academic Advising Association (NACADA), and
Prior to coming to the College, I was the Educator for Bon Secours Richmond
Endoscopy Conference. (See supporting documentation) Each year our conference attendance
increased. We began the conference to provide education to the Endoscopy nurses. As the
conference attendance grew I found that we had Endoscopy nurses coming from all across the
region and from different health systems including VCU, UVA, HCA, INOVA and the VA.
This conference required a significant amount of coordination. I was able to offer approximately
12
Kimberly A. Brownie, MSN, RN
Promotion in Rank Narrative Summary
six to seven contact hours at the daylong event. This also included vendors displaying their
products and providing education to the attendees. This was a significant piece of what I did to
make sure that much needed education was available to the nurses. In addition to the conference
I also coordinated the annual skills fair to provide all of the required annual education to the
endoscopy nurses and technicians. Again this was a daylong event on a Saturday to allow
approximately 100 staff members to get their annual competencies taken care of on one day.
Having these opportunities prior to my time at the college I feel has assisted me with my current
role as Practicum Lead. Many of the responsibilities in coordinating those efforts are similar to
Good Start program. I felt this was a very thorough part of my orientation to the college. I was
introduced to many different pieces of the college and their association with the NLN
competencies. At the conclusion of this program the Good Start participants decided to write a
journal article with the intent of having the article published in the Journal of Nursing
Scholarship. As part of the group, I have focused on a literature search to include scholarly
evidenced based articles and reviewing the selected articles. This journal article is focusing on
how to implement a successful orientation program in the college setting and making sure that
there is support available for new faculty. I would like to see the group or a portion of the group
continue the work on this article with the hope of being able to get the article ready for
In July 2016, I attended the two day NLN New Faculty Intensive Workshop help in
Washington, DC. As a brand new faculty member this course was very interesting and provided
a lot of great information. Other attendees talked about the lack of support they received as new
13
Kimberly A. Brownie, MSN, RN
Promotion in Rank Narrative Summary
faculty. Even being a new faculty member at the time, I could tell that the Memorial College of
Nursing provided a nice orientation to the college. I was provided a faculty navigator and course
mentor to help me adjust to my new faculty role. This is something other colleges do not have.
The presenters also did a nice job of covering many topics related to objective writing, incivility,
and learning styles. Once returning to the college, we were able to build on what we learned in
In the Good Start meeting, we each had the opportunity to present information related to
the different NLN competencies. I chose to present on NLN Competency II, Facilitate Learner
Development and Socialization. I discussed how nurse educators recognize their responsibility
for helping students develop as nurses and integrating the values and behaviors expected by
those who fulfill that role. I was able to use information from the Teaching in Nursing 5th
Edition by Billings & Halstead to prepare. We also did an activity to bring things together. This
activity was making your own stress ball. (See supporting documentation) This activity gave
In April 2017, I attended the VLN conference in Charlottesville, VA. This conference
covered many topics. One that I found to be most interesting was on the Board of Nursing
updates. Since becoming a new faculty member this was great information on some of the recent
changes that have taken place with policies. I enjoyed hearing the updates and what affects me as
a nurse. Another very interesting topic was on creating a healthy workplace and how important it
is to have a quiet place for students and if needed, staff to go to. This space allows students to
decompress and learn how to relax with all the stress they have with juggling nursing school,
14
Kimberly A. Brownie, MSN, RN
Promotion in Rank Narrative Summary
Over the course of the 2017- 2018 Academic year I attended several conferences
including the 2018 Odyssey Conference – Educating the Acute and Critical Care Nurse and the
2018 Pathways to Knowledge Nurse Educator Conference. For the Pathways to the Knowledge
Conference I submitted an abstract titled Faculty Orientation: A Good Start with Tamarah
Pearson. We were invited to present the poster following the submission of the abstract. Once
the abstract was accepted the presenters were then given the opportunity to do a podium
presentation to highlight their work during the conference. (See supporting documentation) This
conference is intended for nurse educators and drew approximately 200 participants.
In addition to attending several conferences this academic year, I participated in the Team
Flourish book club. The group met monthly throughout the academic year to discuss the book
Flourish. We had great group discussions on how we can grow and learn to gain an
incorporated activities and group discussion to share our thoughts on the topics we were reading
about in the book each month. I learned from this experience to focus on the positive things in
education and my commitment to being a lifelong learner. I am planning to take the Certified
Nurse Educator exam. In preparation for taking this test, I attended the NLN CNE prep course
held in Washington, DC in June. This course provided information on preparing to take the
15
Kimberly A. Brownie, MSN, RN
Promotion in Rank Narrative Summary
This document summarizes my work since joining the faculty of the Bon Secours
Memorial College of Nursing. Thank you for your consideration of my promotion in rank
request.
16