Over the past two decades Stephen has selflessly shared his expertise in mental health nursing with countless students in the four year undergraduate program and from 2003 until 2015, with students in the Advanced Standing Program. Stephen seamlessly incorporates best practice nursing knowledge in the classroom to provide students with the opportunity to gain an understanding of acute and chronic mental health challenges and to learn about the roles of family, society, nurses and health care professionals in providing care to this population. Stephen creates a safe space for students to reflect on and challenge their own and society’s perspectives of mental health with the goal of increasing the students’ awareness of the experience of the clients themselves.
Stephen’s support of students and the larger community often reaches well beyond the second year of the nursing program in which much of his teaching is situated and he lives the concepts of advocacy and social justice.
Learners have recognized Stephen’s excellence in teaching as he has been nominated for the Allan P. Stuart Award for Excellence in Teaching in three different years, the most recent being 2021. His teaching excellence was recognized within the Faculty of Nursing as he was awarded the Faculty of Nursing Excellence in Teaching Award in the academic year 2020-2021.
Stephen has been engaged with other faculty members and stakeholders in planning for a Certificate in Mental Health Nursing designed to meet the goal of increasing access to mental health practitioners for the citizens of New Brunswick.
