Dr. Susan Duncan

In my present role as a Director of a School of Nursing, I work to uphold the quality of undergraduate and graduate nursing education programs within the university and to influence nursing education policy broadly. I contribute to sustaining and advancing the quality of an academic education for Registered Nurses – one that prepares nurses to think critically about their essential roles in nursing, health and social systems and to practice with competence and commitment – at both undergraduate and graduate levels.   

My term as Director is marked by intense faculty renewal with a turnover of 2/3 of full time faculty positions; the School of Nursing has been fortunate to attract talented and committed scholars in teaching and research. Mentorship and building strategic directions and vision are key to leadership in a School of Nursing undergoing this transition.  I foresee the School of Nursing’s legacy of excellence in nursing education, community and practice engaged inquiry and research and scholarship will extend and strengthen over the next decade. In building the foundation for the future of the faculty through recruitment and community building, I have the privilege of leading with a talented administrative team of faculty and administrators. Together we uphold and communicate the values and vision of the School, Faculty and University in an era marked by intense and continuous change. 

My term as Director includes a significant commitment to nursing education leadership, provincially and nationally.  As Chair of the Nursing Education Council of BC, and Co-Chair of the Nursing Education Planning Council, I have worked with others to influence policy directions in nursing education through facilitating critical debate, and developing consensus in upholding a vision of academic nursing education, and future oriented perspectives on preparing nurses at all levels.  I work to nurture relationships with practice leaders and engage students in policy initiatives.  In 2020, the International Year of the Nursing and the Midwife, this work becomes ever more significant with the spotlight on nursing contributions and influence on human health in a global context.  Also in 2020, leading the School of Nursing into a new era and way of being amidst a global pandemic, has provided new realizations and pathways for a future that we are creating as we go. Together for the first time we are experiencing all dimensions of our lives - teaching, learning, meeting and celebrating -  in a virtual environment in which many in our communities are social isolated. I envision new social mandates for nursing and nurses, our roles and practice settings forever changed with new knowledge to guide transitions in this  21st century.