Faculty Spotlight: Wanda Lovitz
“I grew up in the ’70s, and at the time, most women decided between being a teacher and being a nurse,” says Wanda Lovitz, MSN, RN, APRN, clinical instructor at the College of Nursing. “Now, it’s the best of both worlds. I get to teach students, and I get to practice.”
Lovitz teaches NUR 210, the first pathopharmacology course students take during their sophomore year. The course includes pathophysiology and pharmacology and links them to nursing practice. “It’s not common to see combined pathopharmacology courses in nursing programs,” Lovitz notes.
In 2001, then Dean Carolyn Williams, PhD, RN, FAAN, approached Lovitz and Senior Lecturer Jennifer Cowley, MSN, RN, about reestablishing the pathopharmacology course after receiving feedback that students did not feel prepared upon its completion.
Despite the fact that neither were pharmacists or physiologists, they worked together as pioneers in revamping NUR 210 and 211— vital classes to understanding nursing practice.
“Teaching the concepts of ‘patho’ and ‘pharm’ from a nursing perspective and coordinating the content with students’ nursing courses helps them not only understand these concepts but apply them to practice,” says Lovitz.
Now, students take two semesters of pathopharmacology, each semester coordinating with didactic nursing courses. This means, for example, that in the same week, students will study the pathophysiology of lung diseases, the common drugs used to treat them and the appropriate nursing care.
Her role as a nurse practitioner, she says, is what keeps her on the same level as her students.
“As a teacher, I’m in a unique position to relate what I do clinically and apply it to real practice with my students,” Lovitz explains.
In addition to teaching pathopharmacology and three courses in the online RN-BSN program, she works at Baptist Health Lexington as a nurse practitioner for inpatient pre-op, seeing patients before they go into surgery.
“Wanda shares with us her unique experience across a variety of settings, makes sure that content is delivered in a way that is understandable and remains available after hours when content proves difficult for students,” says Renee Strohmeyer, former NUR 210 student. “She laid a solid foundation for me in pathopharmacology which has been a vital component of my success elsewhere.”
