She Practices What She Teaches
Dr. Jill Becker
NECC’s Jill Becker is a nurse’s nurse –a practicing nurse for nearly 40 years the Andover resident has been sharing her experiences and knowledge with nursing students for the last 25 years.
It could be said that this veteran health care giver and educator is a nurse first and a storyteller second. In the classroom, Becker calls upon her many years of patient care and employs a variety of visual aids to engage her nursing students and to deliver her message.
Becker teaches various aspects of fundamentals of nursing including classroom, clinical, and lab to first level Associate Degree in Nursing students. She also teaches “Maternal Newborn Health”.
In addition, Becker is coordinator of the Nursing Advanced Placement Program which is a cohort of licensed practical nurses returning to complete their associate degree in nursing. She teaches “Issues in Professional Nursing,” and “Issues and Trends for the Practical Nurse”.
Becker enjoys sharing her four decades of nursing in the classroom. While her heart and experiences lead her to favor lectures focusing on labor and birth, she says, she also enjoys teaching “issues” courses.
“Issues courses provide me the opportunity to explore the essence of nursing with students,” she says. “We have some interesting and spirited discussions on legal and ethical situations.”
Becker, who earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Iowa, a Master’s of Science in Nursing with a concentration in maternal newborn health from the University of Cincinnati, and a Doctor of Nursing Practice from Northeastern University, says she came to the front of the classroom after exploring different ways to be a nurse, which is one of the many exciting things about nursing.
“There are a vast, variety of ways and settings where nurses can practice,” she says. “There is something for everyone.”
“Health care is constantly evolving,” she says. “There is going to be a need for well qualified nurses. I am proud to be one of those who are teaching the next generation of nurses.”
