While any new job can be stressful, Dr. Kelly Stamp has taken on the challenge of leading academic programs at the University of Colorado College of Nursing during an ongoing pandemic, a nursing shortage and a changing profession. And the new associate professor with tenure and associate dean of academic programs is up for the challenge. “This is a time for doing a lot of listening, understanding and hearing different points of view about how things are currently operating and desires for the department as we move forward,” said Kelly Stamp, PhD, NP-C, RN, CHFN-K, FAHA, FAAN. “My goal is to build a team-oriented department and to innovate as much as possible for the faculty, students and stakeholders whom I serve. The possibilities of where we can go are endless.”
The Office of Academic Programs came under Stamp’s direction in September after she moved to Colorado from North Carolina with her husband, three dogs and cat. She had been the chair of Family and Community Nursing, an Eloise R. Lewis Excellence Professor, and a professor with tenure at the School of Nursing at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro. Before that, she was an associate professor with tenure and director of the Direct Master’s Entry Pre-Licensure Nursing program at the William F. Connell School of Nursing at Boston College in Massachusetts.
Her many licenses, degrees and certifications include a Certified Heart Failure Nurse and Advanced Practice Registered Nurse as an Adult Nurse Practitioner.
“It’s beautiful in Colorado,” said Stamp.
“We love the landscape and the ability to get outside.
Plus, everyone has a dog!”
While she says it’s too early to set specific goals for a department that encompasses everything from undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programs to the Experiential Learning Team, Stamp does plan to offer more international experience to the students and faculty. She’s been traveling to Switzerland since 2013 to teach global health nursing and established an Adult-Gerontology Nurse Practitioner program.
“In Switzerland, they have rural mountainous areas with underserved populations where healthcare is not accessible. For many years, I have met with key stakeholders in Switzerland to educate them how nursing practitioners can provide primary care to people in remote areas. The first nurse practitioner program began in 2017 and I worked with my international colleagues to start the first adult-gerontology nurse practitioner program in 2018 in Bern, Switzerland.”
Switzerland had collaborated with Boston College for a student and faculty exchange during Stamp’s time there. Now, the country is interested in collaborating with the University of Colorado for a student exchange and faculty model to help it further develop the nursing practitioner role.
“It’s been a great experience for students and faculty in both countries. I’m grateful for my international colleagues. I think we learn from each other,” Stamp said.
Stamp discovered her love for nursing at the age of 15 in high school, as a volunteer candy striper.
“I think we all have our calling, and nursing was mine. It is the best profession! My career has taken many twists and turns, early on I loved being an intensive care nurse, especially taking care of patients. Then being able to teach other nurses in intensive care led me to want to earn my graduate and doctoral degrees and build a career in academia.”
Now, that focus and hard work have led Stamp to the University of Colorado College of Nursing on the Anschutz Medical Campus to take on her biggest challenge yet during a difficult time.
“I’m always looking to make the educational experience better for students and faculty. I love it. Nursing is for me. It’s been an awesome ride. Looking back, I would not change a thing.”
