Davis, faculty for first-year nursing

This archived article was written by: Casey Warren

Patricia Davis is a well-suited individual for the nursing program at Utah State University Eastern. She is a Western Governor’s University graduate and holds a master’s degree in nursing education. At USUE her, “official title is professional practice assistant professor.” She is the lead faculty for the first-year program.
Each faculty member has a story of how they ended up with a career at USUE; Davis was simply ready for a change. “I was hired at USUE about two weeks before it became part of Utah State. I have always enjoyed teaching – patients as well as students. It was a good opportunity to try something new.”
“I had spent 27 years in the field of home care. I worked as a director of an agency and as a clinical supervisor of several agencies. The field of home care took quite a beating with all of the changes in Medicare and I was tired of the roller coaster.”
Davis has strengths and weaknesses in her career, just like everyone else. “My strongest ability would be my enthusiasm for learning new things. I love to learn new things and I also love the light that comes in a student’s eye when they ‘get it’. [When it comes to weaknesses] there are a lot of things I could improve on. I still have a lot to learn.”
When she isn’t focused on her career, she enjoys various free time activities. “I have too many [hobbies] – and not nearly enough time. I love to sew, mostly quilts, but a lot of other projects too. I sew with my two oldest girls and it is a lot of fun. [Additionally], I love water sports – wake surfing is currently the favorite in our family. I love to swim, ride in the boat and stay on our houseboat. I [also] like to hike and do a lot of things outdoors, like camping and four-wheeling.”
Davis enjoys the schedule that teaching provides – summers off. This gives her the ability to travel. “[If I had the opportunity] I would travel all around the world – a different place every summer! I enjoy the fact that we have summers off; we have done a different trip every summer. Last year we went to Italy and Rome. If money didn’t matter we would still go – and stay all summer!”
Just like everyone else, she has favorite childhood and college memories. “One of my favorite memories from early childhood was my pony, Fraction. He was a Shetland pony and one of my best friends. I have lots of good memories of riding on him with my neighbor who was also on a pony. I wanted to grow up to be a cowgirl.”
“[As for college], I went to USUE when it was the College of Eastern Utah. One of my favorite memories was driving with some friends to Arizona to watch our basketball team play in a tournament. Obviously, I was really into the game because I don’t even remember what it was for. [I just remember that] a bunch of us got in a van and went to the games and to Vegas; it was a very memorable trip.”
Davis shares her best advice for current nursing and general education students. “My advice for the nursing students – hang in there. It is all worth it in the end. General education students – take a lot of classes and try different things. Make sure that you have tried everything before you land on something.”