Formal Education
Donna attended elementary school in Henry, Virginia, and completed her secondary education at Franklin County Junior and Senior High School in Rocky Mount, Virginia. Franklin County, Virginia. She graduated with honors (4th in a class of four hundred) and promptly entered Roanoke Memorial Hospital’s (RMH) School of Nursing to pursue her training to become a registered nurse.
After graduating from RMH in 1978, she decided to pursue an undergraduate degree in nursing at the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond (now the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Nursing). Again, she graduated with honors in 1980, having achieved her goal of obtaining a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing.
Nursing Continuing Education
Although life circumstances prevented her from pursuing additional formal education, Donna continued to acquire new knowledge and skills in nursing specialties. She had the unique opportunity to attend seminars and “train the trainer” courses to teach other nurses how to acquire new skills. Therefore, she had to become an expert herself to teach others. Some of the areas in which she acquired extensive training included:
Infection Control and Prevention | Chemotherapy Administration |
Substance Abuse and Prevention | Cardiac Rehabilitation |
Intensive Care Nursing | Patient Education Principles and Training |
Employee Health Management | Orthopedic and Neurology Nursing Care |
Post-Surgery Recovery | Mental Health Interventions |
Ostomy and Wound Care | Emergency Preparedness |
Emergency Medical Response | CPR Instructor Trainer |
Nursing Disaster Response Interventions | Advanced Cardiac Life Support Instructor |
Emergency Medical Technician C | Emergency Room Nurse |
General Medical and Surgical Care | Nursing Leadership |
Nursing Education and Development | Nursing Quality Assurance and Competency |
