Dr. Poindexter is an Associate Professor and Interim Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Faculty Development at MSU College of Nursing (CON) and Chair of the National League for Nursing. In addition, she is the Director of the College Teaching in Nursing Certificate Program, CON Teaching Assistant program, faculty mentoring program. She provides faculty consultations on teaching to support student learning outcomes, including teaching in online environments, and scholarship of teaching and learning (SOTL) projects. She is also involved beyond the discipline of nursing as a member of the Interprofessional Education Strategic Planning and Development Committee in collaboration with the College of Osteopathic Medicine and multiple regional community colleges. Dr. Poindexter is board certified in nursing education and is a fellow in the Academy of Nurse Educators.
Dr. Poindexter has over 30 years of academic experience and leadership in curricular and program development. Prior to her current role, she was the Director and co-designer of an innovative MSN Adult-Gerontology CNS and Nurse Education Program to address the national faculty shortage and prepare teaching ready clinical experts. She served as a member and chair of the National League for Nursing Board of Commissioners and chair of the test development committee responsible for launching the nation’s first certification exam for clinical nurse educators. Most recently, in response to the mental health challenges facing nurses, Dr. Poindexter has lead efforts in the CON BSN program to infuse well-being behaviors as part of course delivery to provide future nurses with the lived experience and tools to provide self-care. She led the implementation of a BSN competency based clinical learning process and collaborated with faculty to re-design the BSN curriculum to thread academic and experiential activities on evidence-based practice, social determinants of health, advocacy, equity, diversity, person-centered care, transitions of care, and community. She has served as a PI on simulation and education studies on the integration of evidence-based practice across the curriculum, interprofessional communication and triage for maternal infant care using high fidelity in-situ simulation in collaboration with Sparrow Health System, interprofessional triage care using telehealth in collaboration with the College of Human Medicine, and an interprofessional simulation activity using TeamSTEPPS communication in collaboration with College of Osteopathic Medicine. She is a master TeamSTEPPS trainer and co-facilitates workshops on interprofessional communication across the Health Colleges and Partnering Health Systems.
Dr. Poindexter has a substantial record of contributions to the advancement of teaching and leadership in the profession. Her areas of focus include interprofessional education, team training, simulation, authentic learning and assessment, and nurse educator competency/certification. She was awarded a teaching fellowship in the Preparing Future Faculty, Council of Graduate Colleges, and a recipient of the National League for Nursing Promise of Nursing Faculty Award. She has served as Co-I on a HRSA grant to advance interprofessional education for nursing, pharmacy, and medicine. She was also a PI on a multi-year nursing workforce grant to prepare future nurse educators in the State of Michigan. She has published and presented her research on nurse educator entry level competencies to teach, value associated with nurse educator certification, reduction in patient care errors using interprofessional communication, interprofessional communication competencies integrated into the curriculum, and integration of genetics into undergraduate and graduate nursing education. Dr. Poindexter serves on the editorial board for Nurse Education Perspectives and the Journal of Nursing Education.