Caitlyn Schoeny has been a nurse educator since 2020 and joined CMU in 2023 where she currently teaches level one students in the traditional BSN program.
She started her journey in healthcare as an EMT, working as a trained-on-site medical assistant in urgent care. Schoeny is a stroke certified nurse and has spent her entire bedside nursing career in the neurosciences. In addition to teaching, she is a practicing nurse on the Neuro Trauma unit at St. Mary’s Regional Hospital. As a nurse educator, Schoeny is specialized in healthcare simulation education. Her experience includes developing the simulation educator role at a previous institution; co-designing a new $1.5 million interprofessional simulation center; creating and integrating simulations into undergraduate and graduate curriculum; and training faculty and staff on simulation best practices.
Her teaching style is best summarized by the Latin phrase “facta non verba,” essentially meaning “deeds, not words.” Schoeny views it as an honor to both teach and practice nursing. She is there alongside her students “doing the work” with them and acts as a facilitator and life-long learner herself. She seeks to provide interactive learning experiences and guide students to self-discovery via Socratic questioning. She values a collaborative environment and encourages students to ask questions, perhaps most connecting with a progressivist teaching philosophy.
Outside of the classroom, she enjoys hiking; dirt biking; Jeepin’ in the San Juans and Moab; kayaking/paddle boarding; gardening/preserving food; candle making; and truly living an adventurous life with her husband and three young boys.