National Senior Manager of Faculty Development
Chamberlain College of Nursing
2119 West Desert Lane
Phoenix, AZ 85041
e-mail: sjdavids@gmail.com
phone: 602-882-8796
LinkedIn profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/sandradavidson
Blog: http://sandradavidson.posterous.com/
Twitter: sandra_davidson
To view her Dissertation click here
As Senior Manager of Faculty Development for Chamberlain, Sandra is responsible for on-going faculty development initiatives. Prior to joining Chamberlain in June of 2010, Sandra was the Organizational Development and Clinical Education Specialist for Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) at Western Regional Medical Center in Goodyear, AZ. She was responsible for the provision of clinical education to all clinical staff as well as the ongoing development and refinement of CTCA’s unique patient centric culture. She acted as an internal consultant to assist departments to develop high functioning teams and fostered leadership development at every level of the organization. Sandra has also previously served as a faculty member and was the Program Director for the Master of Healthcare Innovation Program at Arizona State University’s College of Nursing & Health Innovation.
She holds a PhD in Leadership Studies from Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. Sandra's dissertation was a response to the pressing problem of a shortage of qualified faculty in nursing education. In this study she focused on understanding from a leadership perspective both positive and negative effects of the transition from practicing nursing to teaching. She accomplished this through the use of a postmodern research methodology called Complex Responsive Process. The study focused on the dynamic transformative effects of relationships as enacted in natural environments. A central element of this methodology is the researcher's continuous immersion in the field of experience, the literature, and process of reflection. She spent almost three years immersed in this deeply reflective qualitative study.
She continues to engage in reflective and relational practices as an educator and leader. She coaches and supports faculty to participate in relational and narrative pedagogy and seeks to continually engage her colleagues and students in the meaning making process. In all aspects of her life, she focuses on relational leading and the co-construction of meaning with others. She believes that positive transformation in healthcare and education are possible through relational and social constructionist practices.
Sandra practiced as a Registered Nurse in Canada prior to moving to the US. She has held various positions such as charge nurse, clinical nurse specialist, clinical education coordinator and clinical associate professor. She has taught nursing and healthcare leadership across the spectrum from the associate degree to doctoral level. She has published several peer reviewed journal articles and co-authored several book chapters on innovation and leadership in nursing education. Sandra is an engaging speaker and facilitator and present nationally and internationally.