Widely recognized as a leader in nursing education, ethics and simulation, Dr. Jennifer Bartlett’s work helps advance the mission of the College of Nursing and Mercer University. She credits her mother, an oncology nurse, with sparking her passion for nursing.
“I grew up with stories. Sometimes they were blood and guts, sometimes they were sorrowful and heartfelt, other times they were funny. Sometimes there were success stories,” said Dr. Bartlett, associate professor of nursing. “These relatively inappropriate dinner conversations really shaped who I am as a person, how I deliver nursing care, and certainly how I teach.”
Dr. Bartlett joined Mercer’s College of Nursing faculty on the Atlanta campus in 2015 and was recently named the associate dean for undergraduate nursing for the program’s expansion to the Macon campus. She’s working closely with College of Nursing Dean Dr. Tammy Barbé, Executive Vice President Dr. Penny Elkins and Vice Provost Dr. Kelly Reffitt to develop the program that is slated to launch in fall 2025.
“We’re taking our existing undergraduate nursing program, which is very strong, and thinking about how to best integrate nursing into the traditional Macon student experience,” she said. “Of course, that means thinking about how to implement our curriculum in Macon, but there’s much more. It’s also about designing the simulation lab — approving blueprints, ordering the beds, picking every fixture, even selecting every sheet that’s going onto one of those beds — all to create the best possible learning environment. And then the most important part — selecting, onboarding and training our faculty.”
She’s learned there isn’t always a right answer in nursing, and Dr. Bartlett said she feels a heavy responsibility to give students the resources they need to find the answers.
“I’m pretty sure I have a reputation for being very tough. I’m one of those teachers who pushes students, but I’m right there behind them if they falter or if they need me,” she said.
She added that she feels a responsibility for the development of students as people as well as nurses, and she does this by “setting up brave and safe spaces for them to flourish as students and develop professional identities so that they’re excellent nurses.”
“I am allowed to be passionate. I’m allowed to be articulate, driven and assertive, and I bring that along with my humor and my clinical expertise,” said Dr. Bartlett. “I teach with my whole body, and I’ve even been known to burst into song in class.”
In 2019, Dr. Bartlett’s unwavering dedication and passionate approach to teaching were put to the test when she suffered a major stroke, a challenge that profoundly impacted her life and work.
“I lost all speech, all thinking. I could not do math,” she said. “I couldn’t tell you my name and birthday, but I never lost my medical speech. I could tell you that I was having intermittent flaccidity on my right side and expressive aphasia.”
She had several months of rehab and said being on the other side gave her a deeper understanding of the challenges inherent in navigating our complex health care system. She also admits that having to relearn math gave her insight into how her students learn.
“I’m very passionate about the fact that I think nurses need to mirror the populations we serve. To do that, we have to have a lot of diversity of thought, perspective and experience in student nurses.”
Dr. Bartlett’s expertise in nursing education, curriculum development, and assessment and evaluation led her to join the author team of the most commonly used nursing fundamentals textbook, Fundamentals of Nursing: The Art and Science of Person-Centered Care. And most noteworthy is her work as the lead co-chair for the just-published 2025 Code of Ethics for Nurses. The almost two-year endeavor required developing an iterative process to guide the 50-member team in the review of the existing 2015 Code.
“We worked with 50 really remarkable people in nursing. Some were experts in ethics, some in education, some in policy and some were activists,” said Dr. Bartlett. “Good leaders are astute enough to recognize that there’s power in working within a system to make change.”
As a certified health care simulation educator, Dr. Bartlett has demonstrated expertise in simulation, a robust education medium, and is using her expertise to continue the integration of simulation for the College of Nursing as it expands to the Macon campus.
She also participates in interdisciplinary collaboration and serves as an inaugural, standing internal advisory board member of the University’s Center for Leadership, Ethics, and Service. Her expertise in nursing ethics has led to activism and engagement at the national level.
“I think I’ve been involved in some projects that I feel I have a very small part — and I’m going to emphasize a very small part — in shaping the next generation of nurses,” she said. “There is this aspirational, inspirational aspect of the Code that I hope really serves nurses as they build agency, and we recognize our voices in the world. It’s really about making sure our voices are heard.”
