Foundations of Nursing Practice: Essential Concepts

Patricia Fowler started her nursing career as a Public Health Nurse, making home visits to care for a high-risk neonatal population. Following this, she taught Pediatric Nursing at a local hospital, then worked as an RN in a Pediatrician’s office. Upon completion of her MSN, she worked as a nurse clinician at a University based Health Clinic and then was recruited to teach Nursing at the University of Texas at El Paso. She taught multiple courses in both classroom and clinical settings, addressing Growth and Development, Health Promotion, and Medical-Surgical Nursing. During this interim she was honored to serve as Chair of the Curriculum Committee and as Associate Dean for the Undergraduate Program. 

While teaching, Kendall-Hunt Publishing encouraged her to write her own textbook, and she welcomed the opportunity. Foundations of Nursing Practice was first written as one text, with the Growth and Development section intended to provide a life-span insightful perspective to apply to the Essentials of Nursing Practice. The two texts were separated due to a higher demand for Essentials as an introductory Nursing course. To remain current with the ever-evolving changes in health care, both texts have been revised four times with the assistance of Sarah Yvonne Jimenez, PhD, RN, who is currently teaching these courses at UTEP.

Dr. Sarah Yvonne Jimenez is a registered nurse and assistant professor at the University of Texas at El Paso where she teaches in the undergraduate nursing program. She earned a Philosophy of Science degree in Nursing from the University of Texas at Tyler. She is also an early career researcher studying factors that enhance dementia literacy and brain health knowledge among vulnerable populations. She focuses on the mental health of dementia caregivers living on the U.S.-Mexico border. Dr. Jimenez is a community educator, support group facilitator, health policy advocate, and a Board member of the West Texas Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association. Healthcare organizations in which she holds membership include the National Association of Hispanic Nurses, the Gerontological Society of America, the National League for Nursing, and the American Public Health Association. She is the vice president of the Delta Kappa chapter of the Sigma International Honor Society of Nursing and the president of District 1 of the Texas Nurses Association. In 2023, she was accepted as a fellow in the UsAgainstAlzheimer’s Brain Health Equity Fellowship.