Patricia McCartney, Ph.D. '95 and M.S. '77, of Amherst, The Dr. Richard T. Sarkin Award for Excellence in Teaching

Patricia McCartney, former clinical professor in the UB School of Nursing, will be adding the Sarkin Award to numerous other honors that have recognized her exceptional teaching ability: the SUNY Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching; the Award of Excellence in Nursing Education from the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses; and the UB School of Nursing Dean's Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Additionally, her election to the American Academy of Nursing, the most prestigious honor bestowed by the American Nurses Association, was based on her outstanding contribution to the profession through teaching.

Adding to the recognition from professional organizations are other less-heralded but just as important accolades McCartney has received, like the spontaneous awards from students over the years in appreciation of her caring mentorship and her willingness to work with them to ensure they met the high standards she established for them.

McCartney, who taught with the late Richard Sarkin, emulates many of the same characteristics he exhibited in his exemplary work in clinical teaching and practice. Her pedagogy is directed at encouraging active learning, critical thinking and the mastery of concepts no matter what level of student. She has been lauded for interacting with students in a professional manner, providing students with examples and guidelines for completion of assignments and incorporating student feedback to improve her courses.

She served on the UB Faculty Senate Committee on Teaching and Learning, a campus-wide group focused on improving the teaching of both faculty and teaching assistants, from 1999-2006, and served as its chair from 2002-2005.

Prior to joining the UB faculty in 1981, McCartney was a staff nurse and began her teaching career in 1977 at D'Youville College. A regular columnist in a leading nursing specialty journal, MCN: the American Journal of Maternal Child Nursing, McCartney created and maintains an electronic discussion list for perinatal nurses that is accessed by practitioners around the world. McCartney just retired from UB in January 2009 for a position as senior clinical nursing instructor for the Washington Hospital Center in Washington, DC.