Pamela Ashcraft ’01 had not thought about teaching until she enrolled for her master’s in nursing at the University of Central Arkansas.
“I just realized how that by teaching nurses you can impact so many more people, not just your patients, like the patients I would take care of on the floor, but all the patients that the students see. And I just fell in love with it,” said Ashcraft, who has been an educator in the School of Nursing since 2002.
After finishing her undergraduate degree in Tennessee, the Pine Bluff native received her master’s in nursing from UCA. She earned her doctorate in nursing from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and began her career at UCA as a clinical instructor. She is now associate professor and research and scholarship coordinator in the School of Nursing.
Ashcraft’s role includes instructing students, helping faculty and students prepare for presenting research at conferences, and reviewing faculty-written manuscripts. She also is the coordinator for the Honors in Nursing program and is the liaison between the School of Nursing and Conway Regional Health System’s Professional Practice and Research Functional Council. She serves on the board of directors for the Southern Nursing Research Society.
Growing up, Ashcraft was familiar with the influence a nurse can have on a life. Her grandmother was a nurse and shared stories of how she helped people in her career. After Ashcraft’s father was diagnosed with leukemia her senior year of high school, she witnessed how happy he was when in the care of nurses.
“I think for the first time in my life, I really understood what it meant to be an angel on earth,” she said.
To support students on their journey to becoming the nurse they aspire to be, Ashcraft gives back philanthropically. She and her husband, Mike ’84, have endowed two UCA student scholarships: the Riggs Ashcraft Nursing Scholarship and the Ashcraft Nursing Scholarship. Both are awarded to students who are in an underrepresented group.
“I think when you donate your time or your money to UCA, whether that’s through a student organization or through the foundation … I think that you’re really saying that, ‘This is worth it. These are my kids. These are my kids’ friends or my neighbor’s kids or my colleagues.’ It just feels like the right thing to do,” she said.