Maureen Hermann

Assistant Professor

DNP, Doctorate in Nursing Practice and Leadership, 2016
MSN, Master’s in Nursing Education – Adult Medical Surgical Peoria, IL, 2011
BSN, Bachelor of Science in Nursing, 1995
Associate Degree in General Education, 1995
Associate Degree in Science, 1991

Biography

Dr. Maureen Hermann earned her BSN (1995) and MSN (2011) from Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing in Peoria, IL. Her master’s research focused on the learning and social needs of the English language learner and developing the Language Partners Program and the published Diversity and Inclusion Plan at Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing. In 2016, Dr. Hermann earned a DNP with an emphasis in leadership from Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing in Peoria, IL. Her Capstone project, Cultural Competency of the Faculty Nurse Educator, was published in 2016. Dr. Hermann has worked in nursing education at Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing for over 15 years. In January 2018, Dr. Hermann joined the Bradley University Department of Nursing faculty as a part time instructor. In August 2019, she joined the faculty as a full time Assistant Professor in Nursing.

Hobbies

Dr. Hermann likes to laugh. She likes to have fun. She likes to do things that make others happy. Caring is a priority for her in all she does. She likes impulsive small fun trips – even to go get a cup of coffee with a friend. She loves to paint and draw and is going to try sewing soon.

She has the most amazing son (Patrick), whom she adores. Proudest mom ever. She also has 3 dogs – who each claimed the title of “Office Assistant” during the pandemic. “I am blessed with a beautiful life,” she says.

Teaching

Dr. Hermann has been blessed to work in the undergraduate and graduate programs. In the undergraduate program, she has developed and implemented Bradley’s Fundamentals of Nursing Theory and Health Assessment courses. She says it is an absolute delight to work with the sophomore students as they start their journey in professional nursing. She incorporates and implements team based and active learning strategies in the classroom. She finds it is essential for each and every student to embrace their confidence and pride in their work. At this level, the students are truly excited for class, and the opportunity to build lifelong friendships with their peers. The knowledge, application, and critical thinking at the sophomore level is essential, as nursing is based upon these concepts throughout their program.

Dr. Hermann says she has also been blessed with the opportunity to work with Bradley’s graduate ethics, health promotion, leadership, and the DNP seminar courses. It is wonderful to watch and be part of the school’s nursing professionals becoming leaders and representing their profession in the most amazing way. The opportunity to be part of the seminar courses, where graduate students are excited to implement a change — and make a positive difference for the community, is an absolute blessing.

She adds that as an instructor, being part of each student’s journey, whether undergraduate or graduate, is an honor. When one truly cares for another and makes every attempt to make the world a better place as a professional nurse, she cannot help but smile with pride for the program’s students. She truly has the best of both worlds.

Her teaching philosophy…. As a nursing faculty member, successfully educating the rising group of nurses is critical to the sustainability of the profession. Educators need to use innovation in teaching and learning styles to assist their students in critical thinking. It is also essential that nurses are considerate, kind, caring, and embrace the need for dignity for all they encounter. She once heard a saying: “In a world where you can be anything, always be kind.” She truly attempts this in her every encounter, with hopes that students (and others) will follow in the same steps.

Scholarship

Presentations

Cultural Competence of the Faculty Nurse Educator, OSF Saint Francis Medical Center, College of Nursing Research Day, Peoria, IL, November 2015.

Cultural Awareness of the Academic Nurse Educator for the National League for Nursing/2016 NLN Education Summit/Orlando, FL, September 2016.

Cultural Awareness of the Academic Nurse Educator for the American Association of Colleges of Nursing/2016 Faculty Development Conference/Anaheim, CA, November 2016.

Cultural Awareness of the Academic Nurse Educator for National Nursing Ethics Conference/UCLA /Los Angeles, CA, March 2017.

Cultural Awareness of the Faculty Nurse Educator at the 44th Biennial Sigma Theta Tau Convention, Indianapolis, IN, October 2017.

Accepted for Fall 2022:

Using a Bilingual Nursing Student Study Group to Identify Support for Academic Success at the 2022 NLN Education Summit, Las Vegas, NV, 2022.

Publications

Cultural Self-Awareness of the Academic Nursing Educator published in the Virginia Henderson Global Nursing e-Repository, April 2018.

Contributor on chapter 9: Cultural Competence in Potter/Perry/Stockert/Hall: Fundamentals of Nursing, 10/e, ISBN: 978-0-323-87772-1, Published in March 2020.

Cultural Reviewer on all chapters for Stanhope/Lancaster: Foundations for Population Health in Community/Public Health Nursing, 6/e, ISBN: 978-0-323-77688-2, Published: November 2021.

Hermann, M. (2021). The COVID-19 Caring Project. [Letter to the Editor]. Nursing Made Incredibly Easy! July/August 2021, 19(4), p. 4, Retrieved from https://journals.lww.com/nursingmadeincrediblyeasy/Fulltext/2021/07000/The_COVID_19_Caring_Project.1.aspx

Grugan, A. & Hermann, M. (2021). In Kishor Vaidya (Ed.) How to Be Funny When Teaching Nursing… (Or at Least How to TRY, Melbourne, AU: “Teach Nursing with a Sense of Humor: Why (and how to) Be a funnier and More Effective Nursing Educator and Laugh All the Way to Your Classroom.” Peer Reviewed and Accepted August 2021.

Bradley University Honors Program Students

Dr. Hermann loves working in research with Bradley’s senior undergraduate honors students and says that the dedication of implementing evidence-based practice is a discipline all nurses must embrace as being part of a positive change and improved patient outcomes.

Incivility in Nursing Education: A Comprehensive Literature Review (2020-2021)

• Poster Presentation at the Midwest Nursing Research Society, Spring 2021
• Poster Presentation at the Bradley University Student Scholarship Expo, Spring 2021

Breast Cancer Disparities Among Black Women: A Comprehensive Literature Review (2021-2022)

• Accepted for a Poster Presentation at the Midwest Nursing Research Society, Spring 2022

Research in progress:

• Using a Bilingual Nursing Student Study Group to Identify Support for Academic Success (Department of Nursing Collaboration)
• Communication and Having Critical Conversations (Interdisciplinary Bradley University team)

Additional Student Collaboration in Research:

In the fall of 2020, the sophomore nursing students had been transitioned to a fully online environment. During this time, she and the students had a plan to bring a little more kindness into the world during a pandemic. This was called The Covid Caring Project, and it was published to a nursing journal.

In the fall of 2021, the students were back in the classroom; however, they shared that they, and those they cared for, were still having feelings of loss of love and belonging. They did a project throughout the semester, and this work has been submitted for publication. It is entitled: Positively Contagious: Implementation of Caring Behaviors in a COVID Era.

Service

University

• Center for Teaching Excellence and Learning Advisory Board
• Co-Chair of the New Faculty Mentorship Committee
• Presented at the EHS Spring Forum: New Faculty mentorship Committee

Department

• Co-coordinator of the Bradley Nursing Student Association (2019-present day)
• Undergraduate Nursing Curriculum Committee
• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee
• Whitecoat Ceremony Committee
• Level 1 Committee

She has given many tours and networking events for the college with pride.

She has also been on several faculty and administrative search committees for the university. Dual membership for Sigma Theta Tau, Epsilon Epsilon Chapter (Bradley University) and Sigma Theta Tau, Tau Omicron Chapter (Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing)

Mentorship

• DNP Student Mentor (2019-2020) – Scholarly Project: Promoting Resilience in Staff Affected by Covid (Bradley University)
• MSN Nurse Education Student Mentor (2022-present day) – Topic TBD (Western Governors University)

Licensures and certifications

• CPR certification, Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI)