Beverly Miller – A nursing educator who’s a cut above
Among school nurses, Beverly Miller stands above the crowd. She’s so far above, this Fresno State Fresno lecturer was awarded the 2008 Above and Beyond Award from the California School Nurses Organization.
Miller has been a lecturer and clinical instructor for Fresno State’s Department of Nursing since 1998. In 2002, she assumed the position of program coordinator for the department’s School Nurse Services Credential Program. Under her leadership, over 275 students have completed the program during the past six years.
“I was deeply honored to have received the award,” says Miller. “I thoroughly enjoyed the 20-plus years that I spent as a school nurse, making a difference in the health and well-being of children and adolescents and in assisting their families.
“To have the opportunity to bring those rich years of experience into teaching, to share that wisdom and knowledge with students in the Fresno State School Nurse Services Credential Program, has been the most satisfying reward of all.”
Fresno State’s School Nurse Credential Program has thrived under Miller’ s supervision, says Nancy Busch, a faculty colleague. It has evolved from an on-campus program serving only Central Valley students prior to 1998, to a distance-learning program that began serving a good part of the state. It continued to meet the needs of even more students as she guided it to a totally online program.
Miller says the online program opened the door wider for nurses all over the state – in remote areas, and for those with young families and busy lives – to obtain clear credentials to practice school nursing. Now, all program coursework can be obtained online, either through Fresno State or through other universities for those students outside of the Central Valley.
Awards are nothing new to Miller. In 1998, she was recognized as the Central Valley School Nurse of the Year and in 1990 was the California School Nurse of the Year.
Miller served on section and statewide committees for the California School Nurses Organization and was president of the Central Valley Section. She has chaired the California University Educators Coalition and is a member of the National Association of School Nurses Consortium of School Nurse Educators Special Interest Group. She also has worked for the Fresno Unified School District for 20 years representing elementary, secondary and special education issues.
