CONHI Retiring Faculty: Dr. Nelma Shearer
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"Nursing is education." Few people are able to sum up their stance on a lifetime of service to the healthcare field so succinctly. But for Dr. Nelma Shearer, director of the Hartford Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence, that stance comes naturally, thanks to her over 40 years of dedication to nursing and health education. "If you are really practicing from what I call a nursing perspective, and not a medical perspective, nursing is all about health, and health is education," says Dr. Shearer. "Whether it's a person in a hospital, a next door neighbor, or whomever, you're always focusing on health and educating."
With four aunts who were all nurses, this attitude was instilled in her at an early age. "Back when I graduated high school, women really only had four choices of what they could be: they could be a nurse, a teacher, a secretary or married. I didn't want to get married and didn't want to be a secretary, but I did like teaching. My aunts all told me to go and get my bachelor's degree, though. Not my associate's or nursing diploma, but specifically to go get my bachelor's degree." This education framework set Dr. Shearer on her path, enabling her to pursue both health and education by helping people recognize how they can achieve their health goals. Dr. Shearer's desire for enabling people to achieve their health goals stayed with her, and ultimately became part of her Ph.D. work at the University of Arizona, which focused on facilitating women's health empowerment. "I've always been interested in a more positive approach to health, instead of a problems approach. The approach is really just facilitating a person to recognize they have the power to really make choices. We can't start or stop change, but we can change the way we participate in our health." Her decision to focus this approach on women's health was largely due to both her early career experiences and her current family life. As her aging parents faced new health challenges, she was reminded of her first job in Arizona: a school nurse. "When I was a school nurse, what I was seeing was that if I could understand the mother's perspective on health, I could understand where the student is coming from. The mother is really the gatekeeper of the family's health. For women, it's really all about the relationships and getting together to talk things out."
Through this research, Dr. Shearer earned her Ph.D. in Nursing from the University of Arizona in 2000, which she notes was one of her two proudest professional moments. Her entire family, including her parents, came out to see her receive her Ph.D., as she was the first in their family to receive one (though not the last). Dr. Shearer's second proudest professional accomplishment was when she was nominated as an Academic Fellow with the American Academy of Nursing. "To be a member of the Academy has always been a goal of mine, and I am very happy to be part of an organization that recognizes members' contributions to the science."
Even as Dr. Shearer prepares to retire, she still takes the opportunity to pass on a few words of advice for those entering the profession today. "For new nurses, remember what nursing is all about. We are not medicine, and we are not about curing. We are about healing, and facilitating the person to heal themselves." For anyone entering academia, though, her advice is more straightforward: be prepared to work hard, and make sure you recognize everyone that helped you on your way. "I go back to those old Midwestern values I was raised on. If you want to complain, take a step back and complain, but then roll your sleeves up and get back to work."
Left to Right: Dr. Michael Belyea, Dr. Nelma Shearer, Dr. Julie Fleury
At the end of the day, though, Dr. Shearer prefers to focus on the relationships she's built. Dr. Julie Fleury and Dr. Pamela Reed stand out to her as the two colleagues that saw the potential in her, long before she realized it herself. They're more than just her colleagues. They're her friends. When I asked how she wants to be remembered, it isn't her membership to national societies, or even her renowned research - it's her smile and her genuine openness to people. Dr. Shearer, congratulations on your retirement. Anyone who met you will agree, you will absolutely be remembered.