Astroth is IBHE Nurse Educator Fellow

Mennonite College of Nursing Assistant Professor Kim Astroth has been selected as a 2012 Illinois Board of Higher Education Nurse Educator Fellow. The program, which includes a $10,000 grant toward continuing research, is awarded to those who have made significant contributions to their nursing education programs.

Astroth, who joined the Mennonite faculty in 1999, is one of only 18 nurse educators in the state to receive the prestigious fellowship. She will use the funds to further her research on the study of physical function and disease self-management in individuals with chronic kidney disease. “As the number of individuals with diabetes and/or hypertension continues to increase, so will the risk for development of chronic kidney disease,” said Astroth.

During her tenure with Illinois State, Astroth has taught primarily medical surgical nursing clinicals, with an emphasis on critical care. She assisted with Mennonite’s development of the Ph.D. in nursing and a new master’s degree sequence, the Clinical Nurse Leader program.

Astroth earned her Ph.D. from the University of Missouri in St. Louis. She received research grant awards for her dissertation from Sigma Theta Tau International Nu Chi and Xi Pi chapters.

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