Dr. Shannon Matthews
Chair & Director of Nursing; Associate Professor of Nursing
B.S.N., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; M.S.N., East Carolina University; D.N.P., Gardner-Webb University
Bio:
Dr. Matthews has been a nurse for more than 25 years and in nursing education since 2002. She has lived in North Carolina most of her life and has nursing degrees from UNC-CH (BSN), ECU (MSN), and Gardner-Webb University (DNP). She has worked in a variety of settings including, cardiac step-down, orthopedics, neurology, and home-health. Each specialty provided a breadth and depth of experience that contributes to her teaching.
She joined the faculty at Methodist University in 2013 and is an advocate for hands-on learning activities and the use of simulation in nursing education. While completing her doctoral work, her capstone project evaluated learning outcomes and critical thinking for nursing students participating in peer-led simulation. She became a Certified Healthcare Simulation Educator in 2016.
While at Methodist University, she has been instrumental in increasing opportunities for interprofessional education and promotes experiences that allow students from different professions to learn with and from each other. In the future, Dr. Matthews aims to improve clinical learning experiences by working with faculty and staff in practice and education settings to develop and implement Dedicated Education Units for clinical learning.
Dr. Matthews has family ties to the Cape Fear region and has lived in neighboring Sampson County for nearly 20 years. She has been married to Eddie for more than 25 years and they have three children (Christopher, Caroline, and Daniel) and a golden retriever named Dolly.