SUNY Online Teaching Ambassador 2022: Upstate Medical – Caitlin Nye

Caitlin M. Nye MSN, RN, NPD-BC, CHSE (she/her/hers) is an Assistant Professor at the SUNY Upstate Medical University College of Nursing. She received her MSN in Nursing Education and the Faculty Role from Drexel University in 2017 and her BSN from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing in 2005. She is currently a PhD student at the SUNY University at Buffalo School of Nursing.

I transitioned to my role as a faculty member at Upstate in April 2021, after having been a nursing professional development educator on the hospital side for almost seven years, including the first 13 months of the COVID pandemic. I knew from seeing what those nurses were experiencing that they need flexibility, engagement, support, and above all a human face and voice on the other side of the screen for them to succeed in pursuing their education while also working clinically as nurses, often also juggling family responsibilities. Teaching online—and especially asynchronously—requires creativity and planning to provide students with the feeling of being in the room with a supportive and inquisitive faculty member. I reach out to them early and often, through a variety of different means, to make sure they know that I am available, approachable, and a “real person” in addition to being their professor.

I structure my courses so that students have multiple different kinds of opportunities to demonstrate what they have learned, the questions they are asking, and the ideas they are exploring! Additionally, I take care to provide opportunities for them to give feedback on each other’s work, as I believe this an essential part of the learning process, and very important in the online environment. They learn from each other when they see each other as “real people” too!