VanDaveer Receives Outstanding Nurse Award

Karen VanDaveer, MN, RN, has been Director of Nursing/Department Head since August of 1989 and currently holds the rank of Associate Professor. She obtained a Master of Science in Nursing with a rural focus from Montana State University, a nationally recognized, accredited program in 1996.

Karen was instrumental in obtaining the initial authorization for Montana Tech to offer an Associate of Science in Nursing (ASN) degree in 1999, which bridged with an Associate of Applied Science Practical Nursing (AAS PN) degree also approved in 1999.  She subsequently guided the Nursing Program at Montana Tech in its evolution through both two and three year Associate of Science in Registered Nursing (ASRN) programs to a now fully on-line Bachelors of Science (BSN) completion degree. Along the way she led the Nursing Program in applying for and receiving National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC) accreditation for its ASN degree followed by Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) accreditation of the BSN program. Recently, the Montana Board of Regents approved a stand-alone 120-credit generic Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree to be offered by Montana Tech.

Karen is active and involved in the development and evolution of nursing education in the State of Montana.  She is a member of the Montana Nurses Association, the American Nurses Association, the Montana Healthcare Workforce Advisory Committee member, the Area Health Education Center Advisory Board for South Central Montana, the Education Committee on a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grant, and has served on the Steering Committee for MT-CAHN. Currently she is leading Montana Tech's participation in a Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College Career Training (TAACCCT) grant to streamline and develop seamless pathways for Montana nursing education                                                       

VanDaveer received the award at the MHA Health Summit in Helena in March.