Claudette Gordon has more than 42 years of varied nursing experiences that span technical practice, administration and teaching.
Born in Jamaica, her nursing diploma and experiences in Kingston were the springboard for her BSN and MSN she later earned at Lehman College.
Her background is in medical surgical nursing, maternal child health and pediatrics and she has worked in ICU to community health.
“Teaching was not something I planned to do,” she says of her career segue. “In nursing you teach people how to take care of themselves, and instruct other nurses, too. I found I was good at it,” she says. For 15 years, she has been educating upcoming nurses.
“I teach didactics – clinical compliances.” she explains, “And, I serve as a nurse role model.” Her specialization is maternal-child health.
Dr. Gordon holds a Doctorate in Education that reflects her keen interest in curriculum planning and development of effective teaching/learning strategies for adult learners.
She moved from teaching nursing at the Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC) to Bronx Community College (BCC) when it just began its program. Now, Dr. Gordon is a tenured full-time professor at BCC, working out of Lincoln and Montefiore Hospitals.
How did she get her start? “I grew up with my aunt Iris Donaldson in Jamaica who was a pharmacist. There, they work closely with doctors. She taught me simple dressings and I liked it.”
She adds, “My mom instilled in me my work ethic and the ideas of integrity and giving back.”
Dr. Gordon believes that “Knowledge is Power” and that educators need to apply the best teaching practices and innovative ideas so every learner can have a positive educational outcome.
