Welcome faculty, staff and students!
Welcome to a new year: The 114th academic year since the founding of Mount Carmel. It is a privilege for me to begin this year with you – serving you – as your interim president at Mount Carmel College of Nursing.
We have so much to look forward to together.
I especially want to welcome our newest students, the class of 2021. As I shared at Convocation last week, we are all honored you have chosen to answer your life’s calling to become professional nurses and especially that you have chosen to do so at Mount Carmel College of Nursing, an outstanding, fully accredited institution of higher learning.
Of course, we are equally delighted to see so many familiar faces continuing their nursing education journeys. I know how much hard work and dedication goes into keeping the momentum going and I welcome – and applaud – our returning students and look forward to getting to know you better.
For all students – on both campuses and online – I want you to know that I consider my most important role at MCCN that of ensuring each of you is encouraged and ready to do your best to make your educational journal meaningful, mutually beneficial and joyful. Further, I see my role as also being responsible for ensuring that there are no obstacles to your learning as you integrate and apply knowledge in the clinical areas. I am here to ensure that you benefit from the depth and breadth of leadership, expertise and sage wisdom our faculty members bring to the classroom, clinical areas, online learning programs and clinical advisement.
Further, I am eager to see as many students as possible in attendance at the Student Forums I will host this fall – your voice is a critically important one; your opinion matters; and I look forward to our dialog. Please watch for dates and times to be announced.
And, to MCCN’s faculty and staff – I also extend a very warm welcome to you in this new academic year and assure you that I am here to help you best provide for our students. Your dedication to them, to the profession of nursing and to the College is admirable and of incalculable worth. I know that, together, we will make this a memorable year.
My door is always open – however, sometimes you won’t find me there as I intend to come to you – in classrooms, in offices, in hallways and, yes, the coffee shop. I look forward to our greeting one another and I’m open to what you have to say.
Best wishes and have a happy, healthy and successful year at MCCN!
Meet Dr. Brooks!
Ann Marie T. Brooks, PhD, MBA, RN, FAAN, FACHE, FNAP, who is Mount Carmel College of Nursing’s (MCCN) interim president, says that learning is fun and opens a world of opportunities and new interests. A graduate of the Wharton Nurse Executive Program, Dr. Brooks earned her PhD, MSN and BSN from The Catholic University of America and her MBA from Loyola College of Maryland – all of which have opened the world for her.
Not only is she a recognized international leader, consultant and educator in nursing and healthcare, she also has extensive board experience from serving as the president of the American Organization of Nurse Executives and American Psychiatric Nurses Association, chair of the Psychiatric and Mental Health Governing Board, and dean of The Catholic University School of Nursing.
Dr. Brooks considers her most important role at MCCN as being there for students – whether they are on one of our two campuses or online – as she works with faculty and staff to ensure the best learning experience for all. And, she encourages students to have patience with themselves as they tackle new ideas and new problems, using such opportunities and challenges to ask questions. She also encourages them to make use of all the resources available to them – from our stellar faculty and staff to state-of-the-art technology.
Dr. Brooks also brings to MCCN her broad strategic and operational experience in health systems, academic health centers and community hospitals in the United States and abroad. As a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and Fellow of the National Academies of Practice, she is highly respected in the field of nursing. Dr. Brooks also has substantial global nursing and healthcare experience leading organizations (Chief Nurse, King Faisal Hospital and Research Centre, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and providing leadership development programs to nurses from the New Independent States of the former Soviet Union and Central and Eastern European countries. She is published extensively and is a popular speaker. She has been team leader/magnet appraiser with the ANCC Magnet Recognition Hospital for the past 15 years.
Getting to Know You: Dr. Ann Marie T. Brooks
As part of our Carmel Rapper ongoing series of faculty, staff and student profiles, this month we feature Dr. Brooks in our MCCN Spotlight:
Name: Ann Marie T. Brooks, PhD, MBA, RN, FAAN, FACHE, FNAP
Nickname: None that I know about!
Hometown: Washington, D.C.
Alma Mater: The Catholic University of America (PhD, MSN and BSN) and Loyola College of Maryland (MBA)
I can’t live without: Chocolates and laughter
If I could travel anywhere, I would go to: Florence, Italy
When I have down time, I: love to read, watch or attend sporting events and cook
My favorite sports team is: the Washington Redskins
My favorite movie is: An Affair to Remember, starring Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr;
Favorite food: Chocolate
I am currently reading: Option B, by Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant, and Hallelujah Anyway by Anne Lamont
I chose nursing as a career because of: A personal experience as a patient
The quote I tend to live by is: “Never let perfect get in the way of good.”
