Nursing instructor overcame adversity during quest for doctorate

It’s a big decision to commit to study for a doctoral degree, and certainly not one that’s made lightly. Finding the right balance between work, personal life, and the added weight of studying takes real planning. And even then, the best laid plans can be tossed to the wind. 

Ruth Swart knows this all too well. She works full time as an instructor at the Faculty of Nursing; most recently, she was part of a team implementing a new curriculum and developing materials for the new courses to go along with it. She has also just earned her Doctor of Education degree through the Werklund School of Education.

Working with supervisor Jennifer Lock (Werklund’s associate dean, Teaching and Learning), Swart worked on her doctoral research which involved developing new elements to include in an existing undergraduate course. By introducing specific critical thinking instruction and incorporating new technologies as a platform for strategies, the course will now be more closely aligned with professional practice.

Furthering teaching and doctoral research while caring for family

It was a busy time for Swart and although she had figured out how to balance all the components of her life, she couldn’t imagine the curve balls that would come her way — not once, but twice, during her studies. For Swart, the deaths of close relatives that effectively bookended her program were the most difficult obstacles she faced as she advanced her education.

“During the last three years, there were some overwhelming moments juggling multiple roles of mother, daughter, instructor and student,” says Swart. “My mother had been quite ill for some time, and, with me as a nurse, my father and brother needed me to take the responsibility to make the appropriate decisions about her care.”

Swart’s mother passed away in May of 2014 — right before Swart was accepted as a candidate in the EdD program.

Despite her grief, with the support and encouragement of her family, Swart continued with her teaching and her doctoral research towards her degree. She says that’s the way her mother would have wanted it.

“She was a great role model who had also been a high school teacher in math and biology. She actually took classes in education at the University of Calgary after she retired from full-time teaching to work with children with mental disabilities," she says.

Steadfast commitment to education remained despite personal losses

While grieving the loss of her mother, Swart continued on with her doctoral studies while also teaching full-time and working at the Foothills Hospital on a casual basis.

This past summer, just as she was about to defend her thesis, Swart found out her father-in-law was ill and passed away.  

“He was always encouraging and supportive of my educational ventures from my nursing degree, my master’s and then the doctoral,” she says. “It would have been great if he could have known that I had completed my doctoral — he knew it was close.”

While there's no doubt it was a difficult time in her life, Swart's commitment to education remained steadfast, and provided the stability she needed to complete her degree. Despite her personal losses, Swart's work has, and will continue to provide benefits to many nursing students through her leadership in education.

As she works with future nurses and continues to develop and implement her ideas and her research, Swart says her mother won’t be far from her mind.

“Mom was always about education and learning,” she says. “If she were here today, she would be so pleased and delighted that I have completed my degree.”