Erin Berger, assistant professor of nursing, was recently named Dickinson State University’s (DSU) 2020 Nurse Educator of the Year. The award was developed by the Nursing Students’ Association (NSA) of North Dakota, a pre-professional student-run organization comprised of nursing students from institutions across the state, to recognize outstanding nurse educators and to stimulate interest in the profession of nursing education. Berger now has the opportunity to complete at the state level.

Each year, junior and senior nursing students are asked to vote anonymously to nominate their top three faculty members for the award. In addition to Berger, Jacinta Skretteberg and Lucy Meyer were nominated.

Berger, who teaches both sophomore and senior nursing students, began teaching for the nursing department as an adjunct instructor in the fall of 2016. In the spring of 2017, she was hired as a full-time faculty member. Berger is an alumna of Dickinson State University and says it is “a great honor to not only be teaching at my alma mater but to also be recognized as DSU’s Nurse Educator of the Year. To me, nursing education is fulfilling, stimulating, and diverse, and it is a great joy to work with students from all types of backgrounds and unique personal life experiences to assist them in fulfilling their professional dreams.”

Berger will go on to compete against other award recipients at the Nursing Student Association of North Dakota’s (NSAND) state convention held in January in Grand Forks. A board of judges will review each nominee’s autobiographies and letters of recommendation from former and current students. The individual named the State Nurse Educator of the Year will receive a $100 prize as well as a personalized plaque.

Dickinson State congratulates Mrs. Berger on her award and wishes her the best of luck at the next level of the competition!