Kathy Rush honoured for work done in and outside the classroom
Kathy Rush, associate professor of nursing
Kathy Rush, an associate professor with UBC Okanagan’s School of Nursing, was recently honoured with an Award of Excellence from the College of Registered Nurses of B.C.
Rush, presented with an award for excellence in education, is one of 36 nurses recognized at the annual College of Registered Nurses of B.C. (CRNBC) ceremony this fall.
“I am thrilled by this award and the support of my colleagues and am truly humbled as I consider the wonderfully dedicated teachers whom I work with every day,” says Rush. “I have the privilege of being part of the lives and learning of exceptional students, and am proud to say they will be our next generation of leaders in healthcare.”
Rush has been at UBC’s Okanagan campus eight years and teaches in the graduate and undergraduate programs in the School of Nursing. She helped launch UBC Okanagan’s Master of Science in Nursing program, and has played an instrumental role coaching future nurse educators.
Patricia Marck, director of UBC Okanagan’s School of Nursing, says Rush is well known as an expert in care of older adults, and her expertise is far-ranging. With a recent grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Rush is now collaborating with the health region’s Cardiac Services team to enhance health services for older cardiac patients in rural and remote communities.
Rush has shown exemplary leadership as the graduate program coordinator, advising and guiding students as needed, while also chairing a Master of Science in Nursing program committee, and representing nursing at the College of Graduate Studies, Marck says.
Beyond that, Rush has been researching one of the most pressing issues in nursing education: new graduate transition—work funded by the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research (MSFHR ) and culminating in six publications and a final report to MSFHR.
“Rush’s work is not only timely, but critical when we consider the complex health-care environments that new graduates are entering,” Marck says.
Passionate about nursing education and advancing the scholarship and evidence-base for teaching, she researches different approaches to teaching and learning such as flexible delivery, intentional learning, and simulation. She currently leads a joint UBC-Interior Health research project to develop Inter-professional Clinical Learning Units where students, faculty, and physicians and health region staff can work together to provide evidence-based patient care.
Nine nurses were honoured for excellence in education at the CRNBC’s awards event including Rush and senior instructor Joanne Ricci from UBC Vancouver. Leanne Currie, an associate professor at UBC’s Vancouver campus, was presented with an award for excellence in nursing research.
The CRNBC is the regulatory body for more than 39, 000 registered nurses, nurse practitioners, and licensed graduate nurses in British Columbia.
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