DR. KANDYCE RICHARDS NAMED FORTIS NATIONAL DIRECTOR OF NURSING FACULTY DEVELOPMENT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) October 4, 2011 -- BALTIMORE — (Oct. 4, 2011) — Kandyce Richards, Ph.D., R.N., has joined Fortis as National Director of Nursing Faculty Development. Dr. Richards serves in this capacity for all Fortis Colleges and Institutes in addition to the Denver School of Nursing and St. Paul’s School of Nursing in New York City.

With more than 25 years of combined experience in nursing education, research, practice and consulting, Dr. Richards is ideally suited to assume leadership of faculty development activities at Fortis, directly supporting the company’s vision of providing world-class nursing training for its students.

“Dr. Richards recognizes that nursing needs to develop innovative ideas to attract top candidates to the profession and brings strong leadership to our nursing programs,” said Robert L. Anders, Dr. PH, CS, CNAA, FAAN, vice president of nursing for Fortis. “Kandyce has a deep commitment to provide students the strongest nursing education available by working with the faculty at every campus to create supportive, nurturing learning environments.”

Prior to joining Fortis, Dr. Richards was an educational consultant who assisted several Fortis College Nursing programs with faculty development, curriculum revision and course construction. She also has served on the University of Texas El Paso School of Nursing distance-learning faculty.

From 2003 through 2010, Dr. Richards held a jointly-appointed faculty position at the University of Miami School of Nursing and Health Studies, and the UM Miller School of Medicine. During that time, she taught undergraduate and graduate level nursing courses in both didactic and clinical settings, as well as developed, coordinated and taught several web-based courses. Dr. Richards also conducted her own program of research in women with metastatic breast cancer as a member of a multidisciplinary bio-behavioral research team at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, where she received several grants to support her research,including funding from the National Institutes of Health, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. She has traveled nationally and internationally to disseminate her research findings, and has presented several papers to nursing audiences describing the evidence-based nursing implications of her research results.

In addition to academic experience, Dr. Richards has held various clinical nursing positions in Critical Care, including Emergency Room, Intensive Care, and the Post-Anesthesia Care Unit.
Dr. Richards received a Bachelor of Nursing degree from the University of New Brunswick (Canada) and a Master of Science in Nursing degree from McGill University in Montreal. She earned her Ph.D. in Nursing at the University of Miami. Fluent in French and English, Dr. Richards is a member of the Sigma Theta Tau International Nursing Honor Society and the National League for Nurses.

In excess of 100,000 nursing positions currently are vacant in the United States and the Journal of the American Medical Association forecasts a shortage of 800,000 nurses by 2020. As a leading nursing education provider, Fortis and its affiliated nursing programs are creating strong learning environments for students who will become tomorrow’s nurses.
The Fortis, Denver School of Nursing and St. Paul’s School of Nursing campuses have received international recognition for their leadership in employing innovative ways of educating nursing students through simulation. The schools employ a matrix simulation model for linking the labs from each campus to enhance their capacity to teach students and provide critical hands-on learning experiences. Together, they comprise one of the largest nursing education systems in the U.S. with more than 4,400 students nationwide,

About Fortis

A leading post-secondary network of colleges and institutes that engages students in a powerful learning and training experience for lifelong growth, Fortis offers career-based certificate, diploma and degree-granting programs at 40 schools in 14 states. Fortis prepares students for success with career-focused education in a variety of fields including nursing, health care, business and technology and various trades. Fortis also offers online learning platforms for many of its programs. Each Fortis campus is accredited by a nationally recognized body. Program offerings and accreditations vary by campus. Fortis is affiliated with the Denver School of Nursing, St. Paul’s School of Nursing, All State Career School, and Tri-State Institute. Visit www.fortis.edu to learn more about Fortis educational opportunities.
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