University of Phoenix Nursing Instructor Dr. Kimberly Long Uses Her Training to Help Others Achieve Their Goals

(Photo : University of Phoenix Nursing Instructor Dr. Kimberly Long Uses Her Training to Help Others Achieve Their Goals)

Dr. Kimberly Long earned her Doctor of Health Administration degree from University of Phoenix in 2008. She has taught at University of Phoenix on and off since 2003. The University is proud to share that Long recently was named the CEO of the Association of California Nurse Leaders, an organization in which she's been active for 17 years.

Dr. Long has an impressive resume including more than 17 years in nursing and 10 years running her own nonprofit organization, Journey to a Dream. She began her career as a certified nursing assistant in 1985.

Dr. Long said that she's always been a people person. That's why she went into teaching after leaving clinical work for healthcare administration. "I still needed a way to connect," said Long. "Seeing the light go on in a student's eyes and being able to clarify something for them to the point where they develop their own learning platform and tap into their own internal passion where they get excited about something - I find that to be very rewarding for me because that's the kind of thing that you need to motivate yourself, and when I can participate in helping a student find that. It makes it all worth it."

Dr. Long explained that she uses a two-fold approach to teaching. First, she makes sure that her students know she's there to facilitate their learning. After that, she shares the course material in a way that's both engaging and easy to comprehend. She added, "Some topics are a challenge to make interesting, but I challenge myself to do that so that when [my students graduate], they will have retained the information that they've been given and not just regurgitated it back to me for a grade." 

While University of Phoenix is thrilled to have Dr. Long as part of its faculty, the University isn't the only place she has worked as an instructor. Over the years, Dr. Long has worked for a number of notable California healthcare institutions. These roles included serving as Director of Cardiovascular Operations at Saint Agnes Medical Center in Fresno, Vice President of Clinical Service at Bakersfield Heart Hospital, Chief Operating Officer at Kaiser Vallejo Medical Center and System Chief Nursing Executive at Alameda Health System in Oakland.

The Benefit of a Good Mentor

Dr. Long had several mentors throughout her life including her mother, who encouraged her to seek leadership positions and to achieve as much as possible. She has been eager to pass that mentorship forward and espouses the "carry as you climb" philosophy. One of the people whom she has mentored is Fefe Tequame. Tequame was a clinical manager when Dr. Long met her at Alameda Health System. Dr. Long encouraged Tequame to work toward a leadership position. Now the Director of Nursing at Alameda Health System, Tequame said, "Dr. Long has always been a mentor for me and a guide for me to expand my knowledge." Tequame credited much of her success at Alameda Health System to Dr. Long and believed she paved the way for her to become an effective leader.

One great aspect of mentoring is how it can cause a chain reaction. Tequame is now a mentor for many nursing leaders. Dr. Long added, "As I meet people, if there's something I can do to help them figure out how to get on the path that they want to get on, then I feel honored to be able to do that."

Dr. Long understands something about struggling. A teen mom, she was divorced with two kids to raise alone by the time she was 19 years old. When asked how she could accomplish so much while raising two children and holding down a full-time job, she smiled and said, "Sometimes you're in the middle of doing things, and you have no idea how you did it."

A Journey to Dream

Dr. Long's early adult experiences led her to found the nonprofit organization, A Journey to Dream. Their mission is to help teen parents get the resources they need to complete their education and earn degrees. A Journey to Dream partners with local community colleges and provides financial support to help keep teen parents focused on school. When asked about helping others despite her own struggles, Dr. Long replied, "If your presence on Earth doesn't make an imprint on someone, then what is the point? I feel that there is a purpose for the challenges that I've faced in my life. There's a story that I can tell that might give hope to somebody else. If that is what my purpose is, then it was worth it to me to go through the challenges that I went through."

About University of Phoenix

Founded in 1976, University of Phoenix offers a variety of business undergraduate and graduate degrees in a variety of fields of study. The school has campuses across America for in-person learning and is available online to students worldwide. More than one million students have earned degrees from the University, which is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, hlcommission.org. University of Phoenix has an open enrollment policy, meaning it accepts all students who have earned a high school diploma, GED or equivalent.

Follow University of Phoenix on Twitter