The School’s First Professor of Teaching

To nurse or to teach? Elsie Tan didn’t have to choose between the two. She is a nursing educator, and one of such extraordinary talent that she has achieved the rank of Professor of Teaching – a fairly new rank at UBC. Elsie is only the 25th UBC professor to obtain the rank since it was introduced in 2011, and the very first Professor of Teaching at the School of Nursing.

While rising through the ranks, Elsie has demonstrated her passion and commitment to excellence within the many different positions she has held at the School, and has made an indelible impression on those who have had the pleasure of working alongside her. From course leadership to curriculum development to program coordinator for Nursing’s brand new curriculum, Elsie has had a superb amount of influence on the Nursing program.

However, her influence reaches further. “I have strong memories of her advocacy on behalf of the clinical instructor team over two decades ago,” says Sally Thorne, director of the School from 2002 – 2010. “[She was] working to ensure that the cadre of nurses who perform that vitally important role in the School of Nursing are well-supported to provide optimal clinical wisdom to our students.” Elsie’s liaison between practice partners and the students they take under their wings has resulted in decades of well-supported mentoring and learning in the field. This is in part because in seeking out learning opportunities for nursing students, Elsie identified, negotiated, and co-created partnerships between students and clinical instructors by consistently reviewing the needs of practice partners and finding the best fit with students’ unique backgrounds and capacities.

Elsie recognized early on that many students enrolled in nursing had already acquired fascinating and varied experiences and careers that could be fused with nursing. She negotiated opportunities for students in their final consolidated practice experience at sites not traditionally considered for clinical learning, but that were allied with students’ experience. For example, pediatric mental health, or emergency departments that are normally reserved for specialty training programs.

Early in her career, Elsie’s creative thinking and penchant for pushing the boundaries led to several new initiatives for the school that built the foundations for continued advancement of practice learning and they continue to resonate. This includes ventures like the partnership Elsie established with the Vancouver Native Health Society over seventeen years ago. It opened doors for UBC students’ continued presence in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.

Elaine Carty, founding director of the midwifery program at UBC and nursing professor emerita, retains fond memories of late afternoon talks with Elsie about “practical things such as course development, curriculum ideas, student progression challenges and also more esoteric topics like the role of the university in society.”

Elsie’s wider view of nursing as a component of a grander scheme of health care has led her to join with colleagues from other health programs to co-create a model of interprofessional practice. Their efforts resulted in the establishment of a model for provincial Interprofessional Rural Placement in British Columbia (IRPbc), for delivery of interprofessional collaboration and education in rural placements.

Elsie describes herself as a “leader-from-within.” She gained her educational and leadership skills through experience, and offers deep gratitude to the mentors and coaches who gave her opportunities to further develop her leadership capacity, with a special thanks to Dr Fereshteh Grenier, who changed Elsie’s career path.

Elsie incorporates into her philosophy of teaching the approaches of renowned educators and believes that disrupting the “habit of mind” and helping students to reframe is one of many steps to transformative learning. She “strives to co-create learning environments that are meaningful, transformative, authentic, and safe” and believes that reflective and purposeful scholarship involves continually familiarizing and examining the curriculum.

“Elsie is a true professional” says Sonia Acorn, Professor Emerita, “someone who sets high standards for herself and guides students to achieve high standards as well. Her teaching is exemplary as demonstrated by the several awards she has received, including an Award of Excellence in Nursing Education from the College of Registered Nurses of British Columbia.”

Elsie’s colleagues are quick to point out that she has taken a wide view of her role on the campus at large, making insightful and strategic contributions to UBC’s interprofessional health initiatives; bringing a nursing lens to the planning and implementing of major events such as the health team challenge; ensuring that nursing students and faculty understand the importance of these initiatives for the future of health care and patient safety; and championing the value of interprofessional practice for the care of those we serve. She has also devoted enormous energy and attention to connecting with the nursing community on an international level.

For Elsie, every challenge is an opportunity, and with that as her banner she will be the first to establish the parameters of our school’s newest rank.