Teaching the Next Generation of Nurses

With both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing, Instructor of Nursing Victoria Cuomo, MSN, FNP-BC, a registered nurse and board-certified family nurse practitioner, says the field is much more than her career—it is her calling.

Growing up, Cuomo heard countless tales from her mother’s work as a labor and delivery nurse. After hearing so many stories of memorable patients and all that made her mother’s job meaningful, Cuomo was inspired to pursue a similar future and identified her specialty in maternal and newborn health.

“Taking care of women and families is incredibly rewarding,” she says. “I also am passionate about mental health, specifically maternal mental health.”

Cuomo put her passion into practice when she joined New York Tech in 2021 to teach Nursing Therapeutics II: Adult Health Clinical and Transcultural Nursing III: Maternal-Child and Family Health. She continues to teach the latter course on the Long Island campus.

Apart from textbook teachings, Cuomo seeks to enlighten her students with lessons gleaned from real-world experiences, such as learning to trust gut instincts, believing what patients tell you, and adapting to ever-changing conditions. With the rise of telehealth and artificial intelligence, she notes that the nursing field looks much different since the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We as nurse educators must prepare our students with the critical thinking skills they will need to meet these challenges,” Cuomo says. “There is a rapid integration of technology into the world of health profession that students must be prepared to utilize in their everyday practice.”

Between lectures, Cuomo is working with students on a research project to assess the value of simulation—specifically a birthing simulation at the Ferrara Center for Patient Safety and Clinical Simulation—and how to make the experience meaningful and useful for students. At its conclusion, she hopes to bring the research into curriculum development for the Department of Nursing.

Having the opportunity to mentor students in simulated scenarios is a treat for Cuomo. As she maintains her off-campus role in clinical work and taking care of patients, translating her expertise to young learners is something special, she says. “Seeing the excitement and confidence when a student learns a new skill or connects the dots between theory and practice; these moments remind me of why I fell in love with nursing.”

Each year, Cuomo swells with pride as she witnesses the next generation of nurses transition from their first semester to crossing the stage at graduation. Nursing school is challenging, she notes, but the field enriches and positively changes life in immeasurable ways.

Her students aren’t the only ones learning, though. Cuomo is currently experiencing both sides of the classroom—from in front of the room as an instructor and in a seat as a student—as she pursues her Doctor of Nursing Practice at Quinnipiac University. This next step in her education follows her belief that among the many qualities of a great nurse is a commitment to lifelong learning.

“My students show me that innovation and elevation of nursing as a profession comes from curiosity and the courage to challenge the status quo,” Cuomo states. “Each patient interaction is an opportunity to learn and to build a connection. Never lose sight of the human and the family behind the diagnosis.”