Dr. Susan Duncan

Susan Duncan, RN, PhD is Professor and Director of the School of Nursing at the University of Victoria. She is a passionate advocate for nursing education and the nursing profession, drawing on critical and historical scholarship to inform leadership and change in nursing and health organizations. Her practice, teaching and research focuses on community health nursing, nursing education and health policy. She has served on numerous regional, provincial and national nursing and health organizations including the Canadian Nurses Association and the Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing. She has held senior leadership positions in universities while advocating for the advancement of undergraduate and graduate nursing education programs. As a founding President of the Association of Registered Nurses of British Columbia (now the Nurses and Nurse Practitioners of BC), she holds the vision of the nursing profession as an essential global political force for the values and goals of primary health care.
Susan publishes and presents her work on a range of topics including critical nursing education issues; policy analyses; public health nursing, nursing regulation and the future of the nursing profession. She is committed to publishing from a perspective of history, ensuring that future generations have the trail of how the nursing profession has evolved, and those who have influenced its’ directions and impact.
In her 43 plus years as a Registered Nurse, Susan reflects that she has had the privilege of leading in nursing and health from different vantage points – as an individual and as a member of a collective:
- As an individual public health nurse witnessing the conditions of illness and health in the urban core, Susan draws on knowledge and relationships to bring attention to what people need in their communities,
- As a researcher, recognizing the power of knowledge in changing practice and highlighting nursing contributions to health,
- As a teacher and lifelong learner with students and others achieving greater depths of understandings of nursing and health, and upholding the conviction of an academic preparation of nurses,
- As a learner and ally in coming to greater understanding of Indigenous Peoples’ health, human rights and anti-racist practice and pedagogy
- As a leader and member of nursing and health associations, and with communities, joining with others to influence the policy issues of the day - upholding the values of primary health care and ensuring the quality of nursing education programs in Canada.