Patricia King Receives Provost’s Teaching Award

Instructor Patricia King has been awarded a Provost’s College Award for Outstanding Teaching.

Working as part of interprofessional teams to develop the Safe School Health Improvement Project (Safe SHIP) and creating the Real Education About Cannabis and Health (REACH) program are just two examples of how University of Saskatchewan (USask) College of Nursing instructor Patricia “Tish” King consistently goes above and beyond “just doing what needs to be done in her job.”

Tish King is the College of Nursing recipient of this year’s annual USask Provost's Award for Outstanding Teaching, which recognizes an outstanding teacher in each College at the University of Saskatchewan.

Completing her Bachelor of Nursing degree at Memorial University of Newfoundland in 1989, then her Master of Nursing in 1994, Tish joined the University of Saskatchewan in 1992 and has been a valuable member of the College of Nursing since.

“Over the past two decades, Tish has inspired me with her compassion, expertise, and genuineness, first when I was one of her students and now as a colleague,” says fellow College of Nursing instructor Tania Bergen. “Tish maintains a student-centred practice in all she does. She teaches labs, facilitates community-based clinical, and teaches the most inclusive, creative, and engaging lectures, while serving as a mentor to new nursing faculty.”

Tish is not only a respected member of the College of Nursing, but a respected educator in the community. She places a great deal of importance on creating safe health behaviours for school-aged children. Since 2002, Tish has facilitated many learning experiences for students within school settings. Known as “Nurse Tish” by school children and staff, she has guided many nursing students to change their perceptions of community nursing and allowed them to grow in ways they never imagined.

This past fall during the COVID-19 pandemic, Tish led a project that saw the College of Nursing partner with the Saskatchewan Health Authority and Public Health to create the Negative COVID Callback Centre (NCCC) on the USask campus, where fourth year nursing students, who were completing their community clinical, began calling back individuals who tested negative for COVID-19.

Part of Tish’s teaching philosophy is trying to encourage each learner individually and caring and humanism are at the core of her teaching practice. “I try hard to involve my learners as active critics of their own learning process. I always give students the first voice about what they did well and what they need to improve. I strive to be inspiring, rather than intimidating. I learn from my students and I like to show them that what I learn from them influences my practice.”

Tish’s students agree that her teaching philosophy matches how she teaches. Here are some comments from past students.  

“Tish has an exceptional way of making every student she teaches feel valued, important, and unique. She is a teacher, a nurse, a mentor, and overall, one of the best persons I know.” 

“Tish is a wonderful instructor. She is very passionate about what she does and it really shows through her teaching and the stories she shares.”

“Tish is one of the most passionate and invested instructors I have ever had. Her dedication to helping her students truly learn and grow is remarkable. Having Tish as my instructor changed the way I will practice as a nurse. She helped me become more understanding, more knowledgeable, and more confident. Tish genuinely wants to see her students grow and succeed.”

“What I like about Tish is, in her class, you won't just learn to be a better nurse, you will also learn how to be a better person! She doesn't just teach, she inspires!! And that is rare. Her enthusiasm is contagious, which makes students more motivated to learn.”

“Tish sees the value in leadership and mentorship as a nursing instructor. She invests her time in understanding each individual student and genuinely desires to connect with them and find their individual strengths. Tish is a teaching leader who isn’t afraid to be vulnerable or transparent with her students. She created a learning environment that was safe and fun, and she knew the perfect balance between giving guidance and when to trust and let go. Tish models true nursing leadership through her teaching abilities, but she is always striving to become better, something that speaks to her amazing character.”

Tish’s complete teaching philosophy is based on the principles of empowerment education, critical social theory, adult learning, humanism, co-scholarship and mutuality, mentorship, learner inclusiveness, and teacher responsiveness.  

“I believe I was called to be a nurse and that nursing education is where I am meant to practice,” said Tish. “The work of teaching and mentoring inspires me, humbles me, challenges me, and rewards me on a daily basis. I strive with intent to provide my educational service with integrity, professionalism, and caring.  I work with and for my learners. To receive this recognition from my peers, whom I believe are all excellent educators, is a great honour.”

Tish was celebrated as the College of Nursing recipient of the Provost’s Teaching Award at the University of Saskatchewan annual Celebration of Teaching event on April 30th.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forever changed the way we think about the delivery of nursing education. The College of Nursing would like to recognize not only Tish, but all our faculty who have worked countless hours to move theory classes from in-person to remote delivery, restructured in-person labs, and re-conceptualized clinical experiences.

“The College of Nursing is fortunate to be the home of many exceptional faculty who are talented and enthusiastic teachers; our faculty have stepped up repeatedly to support our students,” said interim dean Cindy Peternelj-Taylor. “What has been achieved over the last year would not have been possible without our faculty's perseverance and dedication. I want to acknowledge the immense effort that goes into teaching our students. We thank each and every one of you for being patient and working tirelessly to ensure our students receive the best possible education during these unprecedented times.”