The annual convention of the Idaho Health Care Association was held in Boise, Idaho, in July. Deborah Leveille, Dean of Nursing of the Boise campus addressed the attendees. It was the first time a member of the Carrington College nursing faculty had been invited to address statewide members. Deborah, who has held the Dean of Nursing position at several other colleges in her career, was asked to speak on patient safety in long term care and assisted living. She used the opportunity to highlight how deliberate practice of knowledge and skills in nursing school can strengthen students’ ability to care for these patients’ well-being. She drove home what she has believed and succeeded in, ever since she began her career years ago in Boston, Massachusetts. It is best exemplified by the quote she keeps at the bottom of each email she sends, to this day:
“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” ~William Butler Yeats
Though this was the first time someone from Carrington College spoke before the convention, it was not the first time for Deborah to speak in front of an audience. Prior to COVID, she travelled internationally to over twenty conferences speaking about the improvements of an integrated curriculum in the field of nursing. She talked about what it takes to teach a nurse to be a good nurse; that there needed to be a change in the system, as she said, where “everything is taught in silos; there are huge gaps, and the key concepts and skills were never revisited.” She used what she called the “active teaching strategy” during the early days of her career before Carrington College; first in Boston, and then when she was hired by Fortis, a college network with twenty campuses throughout the south where she served as the Chair of the National Nursing Curriculum Committee.
And what’s the secret? The lighting of the fire? Deborah says it should be a voyage of discovery, it shouldn’t be a chore. It’s got to be fun. Using scenarios rather than power points. It should be experiential, with many choices to give every student a way in to discover how they learn best. Everyone working together, a lot of peer mentoring and plenty of supplies to make it real and solidify the experience.
At Carrington College, where she has been Dean of Nursing for just over a year, Deborah found a very encouraging atmosphere already actively advocating for students. She is proud to say when she met the Carrington College staff for the first time, she knew they were the people she wanted to work with; she felt it was an “awesome culture” and the right environment as she continues working toward retirement. Her latest accomplishment and one she is proudest of is that many students in the Nursing Bridge program have enrolled in the Nursing Bridge program to attain their Associate Degree in Nursing.
Dr. Deb, as she is affectionately known, never hesitates to recognize and celebrate the excellent work of Carrington College students during her visits to the lab. At the same time, she is candid about identifying those who may still be struggling. She fosters a culture of teamwork, collaboration, and peer mentoring—often encouraging advanced students with a simple directive: “Those others need help; go help them.” In this way, Dr. Deb exemplifies the role model Carrington College seeks to put forward, making her a fitting choice to represent the college to the nursing industry.
