Nursing Faculty Recognized Among Region’s Best
04/23/2019
Marking the ninth time in the last decade, a Saint Louis University nursing faculty member was named as the region’s top nursing educator by St. Louis Magazine.
A faculty member captured the top honor in the Woman’s Health category; another was a finalist in the Educator category; and an adjunct faculty was recognized as the top Emerging Leader.
“St. Louis Magazine’s nursing excellence awards confirm what we already know. We’re providing tomorrow’s nurses with the best possible education,” said SLU Nursing Dean Teri Murray, Ph.D.
SLU was named as Missouri’s best college or university for nursing majors by Zippia.com in 2018. That ranking was based on career results, overall university performance and an emphasis on nursing education. It also was ranked as the fifth best nursing college in the nation last year by Niche.
The nursing excellence awards were announced on Thursday, April 18, and are featured in the May 2019 issue of St. Louis Magazine.
The SLU faculty members who were recognized by St. Louis Magazine are Margaret Bultas, Ph.D., top nursing educator; Sarah Oerther, top women’s health nurse; Krista Simmons, nursing educator finalist; and Josh Fender, top emerging leader.
Bultas is an associate professor and the coordinator of the traditional B.S.N. option. Her research focuses on helping high-risk children develop in a positive way.
She told St. Louis Magazine that her great moment in teaching is seeing her students make a difference in the lives of their patients.
Simmons is an instructor who teaches clinical and laboratory courses in the pre-licensure program. She changed careers to become a nurse in 2005, going on to receive her master’s in nursing from SLU in 2010.
Oerther is a nursing instructor and Ph.D. candidate at SLU. For Oerther, nursing is a family tradition – her mother, grandmother and aunts all were nurses. She received Modern Healthcare’s Rising Star Award in 2018 and writes opinion pieces for the HuffPost and The Hill, which raise the profession’s visibility. She told St. Louis Magazine that as a nurse, she is humbled to play such a vital role in the lives of mothers and children during their most wonderful and difficult times.
Fender is an adjunct instructor of nursing and graduate of SLU’s accelerated MSN program. He told St. Louis Magazine he was drawn to nursing to “be there for somebody at their worst times and make their day a little better.”
Saint Louis University has a legacy of nursing education leadership. Read about past recipients of the St. Louis Magazine Excellence in Nursing Awards from 2018, 2017 and 2016.