Michael M. Evans MSN, MSEd, RN, ACNS, CMSRN, CNE has received the 2014 George W. Atherton Award for Excellence in Teaching. He is one of just six faculty members at Penn State University to receive this prestigious award.
Named after Penn State's seventh president, the Atherton Award honors excellence in teaching at the undergraduate level.
Mr. Evans incorporated asynchronous discussion forums into multiple nursing classes in an effort to increase student collaboration and reflective thinking, and developed elective courses in response to student concerns about math used in medication administration.
After attending the Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence in 2012, he redesigned the Nursing 200W course to include blogs, discussion forums, and poster presentations. "I have the ultimate responsibility of collaborating with students to ensure they are prepared to care for complex individuals in a changing health care environment," he said.
Outside of class, he has volunteered with students at an annual children's health fair, helped them conduct blood-pressure screenings, and walked in support of diabetes research.
Mr. Evans is the assistant chief academic officer and an instructor of nursing at Penn State Worthington Scranton.
Board certified in medical surgical nursing and nursing education, Mr. Evans is published in the areas of nursing education and clinical practice. He also volunteers as an item writer for the Medical Surgical Nursing Certification Board and as a manuscript reviewer for the nursing newsletter, MedSurg Matters.
He is a member of many professional organizations including the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society, Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing, National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists, National League for Nursing and the Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses, as well as the American Nurses Association and the American Diabetes Association.
Mr. Evans received an Associate of Science in nursing and his Bachelor of Science in nursing from Penn State University and a Master's of Science in nursing, with a specialization in adult health and a sub-specialization in nursing education from Misericordia University. In addition, he earned his Master of Science in education with a focus in professional studies from Capella University.
He is currently a doctoral student in the College of Nursing at Penn State University.
He resides in Archbald with his wife, Stephanie.
