Dr. Kyndall N. Pritchard

Dr. Kyndall N. Pritchard is an Assistant Professor and Director of the Second Degree Working Professional Part-Time BSN Track in the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing, which she helped launch in August 2019. "I have had the pleasure of participating in the launch of the part-time BSN track at the Davie Campus," Dr. Pritchard said. "Beginning this new path to a baccalaureate-level Registered Nursing education required leadership in admitting students, hiring faculty, and coordinating services with an amazing team." Dr. Pritchard joined FAU in 2018 as a visiting instructor and became an assistant professor in 2019, the year she also earning her doctorate in Nursing at Barry University, graduating with honors.

Dr. Karethy Edwards, Associate Dean for Academic Programs in the College of Nursing. conceived the idea for the Part-Time BSN track. The implementation was made possible by our current and past deans, Dr. Safiya George and Dr. Marlaine Smith, respectively, the College of Business’ Executive Education program team, and our university provost and president. "We credit word-of-mouth and our reputation in the community as some of the reasons we have been able to actively attract applicants without any advertising," Dr. Pritchard said.

According to Dr. Pritchard, many of the applicants in the Second Degree Working Professional Part-Time BSN Track have always wanted to be a nurse and thought this opportunity was lost to them. The students have families and work full-time, so a baccalaureate-level nursing program did not seem feasible. This track allows students the flexibility to work, care for families, and earn their degree by offering evening, online, and weekend programming. The students in the Part-Time BSN track come from every industry and discipline, such as school teachers, social workers, attorneys, mental health professionals, and healthcare professionals, and range in age from 22 through over 60 years of age. "Our greatest success stories are those of triumph during the national and international crises over the past year. The students managed to persevere through personal health and financial crises," Dr. Pritchard said.

Dr. Pritchard currently serves as the founder and faculty adviser of the Minority Nursing Student Organization in the College of Nursing. "The mission of Minority Student Nursing Organization is to increase the number of socially, culturally, and professionally responsible minority nursing students who excel academically, succeed professionally and positively affect the health of marginalized communities," said Dr. Pritchard. "I have collaborated with an Interpersonal Education and Practice (IPEP) team to provide educational activities to medical and nursing students to decrease disparities and biases in health care."

At FAU, Dr. Pritchard has taught Foundations of Nursing, Chronic Care, Acute Care, Mental Health Nursing, Pharmacology, and Foundations of Caring. She has written and presented on topics such as Removing Barriers to Treatment in Opioid Addiction; Effective Teaching Strategies that Enhance Successful NCLEX-RN Outcomes for Diverse Student Populations; and Health Care Information Systems-Welcome to the Dark Side: The Electronic Health Record and Nurses’ Roles in Health Care Technology.

Prior to becoming a professor, Dr. Pritchard worked for 26 years as a nurse, analyst and supervisor at a correctional facility, a psychiatric center, and hospitals including Cleveland Clinic, University Hospital Medical Center and Broward Health. Her first official teaching job was at Keiser University in 2013 teaching Advanced Medical Surgical Nursing and Mental Health Nursing. Dr. Prichard said teaching just seemed to be the logical next step. "Nurses teach constantly. We teach our families, clients, and our communities; we even teach other nurses," she said. "I previously worked as a clinical educator in the hospitals, so the segue into academia was easy."

Dr. Prichard, who was born and raised in Syracuse, New York and lives in Plantation, says her 26 years of experience as a nurse fully prepared her for the academic life. "My experiences have created a unique, and sometimes colorful, perspective that I am able to share with my students. In the College of Nursing, we utilize nursing situations as a means of bringing the content to life. Nursing faculty often draw upon their experiences in practice as a blueprint for the nursing situations." In her limited free time, Dr. Pritchard enjoys traveling with family and friends and is a huge jazz and classical music fan. "I also enjoy activities with my sorority sisters from Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated, and volunteering," Dr. Pritchard said.