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Heather Lee Craven RN, PhD, CMSRN

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  • Instructor
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  • College of Nursing
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  • Office of Academic Affairs
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Biography

Received my BSN and MS in Nursing from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) School of Nursing. and PhD in Nursing from Medical University of South Carolina.

As a first-generation college graduate, I embraced lifelong learning to reinvent myself to meet the changing landscape of healthcare over the span of my career. I have always worked in academic medicine as a medical-surgical nurse before it was recognized as a specialty practice in a variety of roles, including clinical nurse, preceptor, educator, staff development specialist, manager, interim director, and unit-based clinical nurse specialist (CNS).

Actively volunteering for the Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses (AMSN), I served on various tasks forces, presented at annual conventions, served on the Board of Directors, and edit the Core Curriculum. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we develop tools for nurses and hospitals to meet the challenges they faced. In 2020 AMSN received an award from the American Society of Association Executives for its COVID-19 Staffing Toolkit and I received the AMSN President’s award in recognition of extraordinary service to AMSN.

Throughout my career, I have enjoyed the most are those opportunities to teach and mentor new nurses or nursing students. As Adjunct Faculty for 10 years at VCU School of Nursing, first as a clinical instructor and then as lead faculty in the Adults I course, I received the Outstanding Adjunct Faculty Member Award for my service in 2011. Since coming to MUSC in 2012 my focus has been on nursing quality and supporting the organization’s Magnet® journey. Furloughed during COVID-19, I once more reinvent myself, working as a Case Investigator for DHEC and then returning to MUSC in a hybrid position, 50% Nurse Scientist and 50% CON faculty in the baccalaureate programs. Both roles allow me to continue to teach and mentor the nurses of today and tomorrow.

 

Key words: Mentoring, Quality improvement,  Evidence-based Practice, Medical-Surgical Nursing