Kathy O'Flynn-Magee

MSN, RN

Profile

Educational Background

RN , Mercers Hospital
Registered Midwife, Rotunda Hospital
BSN , University of British Columbia
MSN , University of British Columbia

Honours & Awards

2014 - Last Lecture Award (awarded by the UBC School of Nursing November graduating class)
2013 - UBC AMS Just Desserts Award
2011 - Last Lecture Award (awarded by the UBC School of Nursing May graduating class)
2008 - UBC Killam Teaching Prize
2008 - Last Lecture Award (awarded by the UBC School of Nursing May graduating class)
2008 - Last Lecture Award (awarded by the UBC School of Nursing November graduating class)
2006 - College of Registered Nurses in British Columbia (CRNBC) Award of Excellence in Nursing Education
2001 - Graduate TA Teaching Award, UBC Faculty of Applied Science

Service

Associate Director, UBC School of Nursing Undergraduate Program
Level 1 Coordinator, UBC School of Nursing Undergraduate Program
Member, UBC Killam Teaching Award Winners Council
Leader, Professional Practice Thread UBC School of Nursing Undergraduate Program
Member, UBC School of Nursing Practice Education Advisory Group
Member, UBC School of Nursing Undergraduate Program Curriculum Committee
Member, UBC School of Nursing Undergraduate Program Progressions Committee
Member, UBC School of Nursing Critical Research in Health & Healthcare Inequities (CRiHHI) Research Unit
Faculty Liaison, College of Registered Nurses of British Columbia (CRNBC) Student Representative Program (SRP)
Member, Faculty of Applied Science (APSC) peer Review of Teaching (PRT) Committee
Member-at-Large, Western/North Western Region Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing (WNRCASN) - previously named Western Region Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing (WRCASN)
Member, National Sub-committee on Baccalaureate Education, Canadian Association Schools of Nursing (CASN)

Area of Research

Research Interests

Overall, I am a teacher who strives to embody scholarly teaching and teaching scholarship in my everyday practice, and my research interest and the research studies in which I’ve been involved are related to teaching & learning. My special interests and accomplishments are within Teaching Scholarship, Educational Leadership, and Curriculum Development. Many of my service commitments are closely linked/overlap with these areas, such as acting as an external reviewer for the UBC Faculty Certificate Program (FCP) from 2009 to 2012.

Current Projects

Teaching Scholarship Projects

As a member of the School of Nursing Critical Research in Health and Healthcare Inequities (CRiHHI) Research Unit, I was invited to join the unit because of my knowledge of, and interest in, teaching scholarship. Most recently, I was actively involved in CRiHHi’s Partnering for Equity in Health and Health Care: A Teaching and Practice Symposium. In addition to contributing to the overall planning team, I co-facilitated a World Café workshop; co-created an Interactive drop-in gallery; and was an invited guest on the symposium’s finale The Helen Degenerate Show.

Completed Projects

Teaching Scholarship Projects

As one of the founding members of the School of Nursing Teaching Commons, I collaborated with others to provide opportunities for dialogue about teaching and learning, and to support faculty’s teaching scholarship.
Member of UBC School of Nursing’s Research & Teaching Scholarship Committee (RATS). As a member of RATS, I brought my knowledge and perspective as one of the teaching–intensive faculty and my input was frequently sought on matters pertaining to teaching scholarship.

Grading Beliefs and Practices & the Development of Best Practice Guidelines for Grading

In this collaborative project with M. Clauson, we explored educators’ beliefs, values, and practices related to grading of learners’ written academic work. Through our analysis of the findings, we developed grading guidelines to support nurse educators’ endeavors to enact equitable grading practices. We have submitted a paper which is currently in review.

Talking the Walk: Strengthening Communication Education in the Undergraduate Nursing Curriculum

I engaged with a number of colleagues (G. Boschma as PI) to complete a research project about strengthening communication education in undergraduate education. On completion of the project, recommendations related to the UBC School of Nursing undergraduate curriculum were taken up and a paper was published (see publications).

Students’ Experiences of the Arts in an Undergraduate Nursing Curriculum

As part of a research team, we explored students’ experiences of the arts in an undergraduate nursing curriculum (G.McPherson as PI). The findings from this study have influenced the ways in which I use the arts in my everyday teaching practice and the plan is to disseminate the findings through a publication.  

Publications

Selected Publications not Indexed in PubMed

O’Flynn-Magee, K., & Clauson, M. (2013). Uncovering nurse educators' beliefs and values about grading academic papers: guidelines for best practices. Journal of Nursing Education, 52 (9), 492-499.

Boschma, G., Einboden, R., Groening, M., Jackson, C., MacPhee, M., Marshall, H., O'Flynn Magee, K., Simpson, M., Tognazzini, P., Croxen, H., & Haney, C., Roberts, E. (2010). Strengthening communication education in the Undergraduate Nursing Curriculum. International Journal of Nursing Education, 7(1). Article 28. DOI: 10.2202/1548-923X.2043

Jillings, C. & O’Flynn-Magee, K. (2007). Knowledge and knowing made manifest: Curriculum process in student-centered learning. In Young, L.E. & Paterson, B. (Eds.). Teaching nursing: Student-centered theories, models and strategies for nurse educators (p.383-402). Toronto: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins.

Thorne, S. Reimer Kirkham, S. & O’Flynn-Magee, K. (2004). The analytic challenge in interpretive description. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 3(1), 1-21. 

Teaching

Teaching Interests

My various teaching roles allow me to work with students from beginning to end – a privilege indeed. Teaching in the undergraduate program provides a wonderful practice context for my work in the educational stream of the graduate program. In addition, I believe being involved in both levels enhances the scholarliness and scholarship that I strive to embed in my teaching.

Current Teaching

Undergraduate Program
My primary teaching focus in the undergraduate curriculum has been with beginning nursing students in their first term in The Core of Nursing Practice/Foundations for Professional Nursing Practice courses. I so appreciate the opportunity to work with students just coming into the profession. For me, it’s a joy to teach about the core beliefs and values that form the basis of nursing practice, and I try to make a difference in helping to shape how students think about our profession, and their role within it.

In addition to consistently teaching and coordinating the Foundations for Professional Nursing Practice course, I have been part of the teaching team for courses such as Leadership, Ethics, and Policy in Health Care, and Relational Nursing Practice across Diverse Health Experiences.

In the spring term, I work with students who are undertaking the final Consolidated Practicum in the undergraduate program. As part of the teaching /learning triad I work with RN preceptors as well as supporting students’ learning as they move towards graduation and independent & interdependent practice as an RN. 

Graduate Program
My primary teaching at the graduate level has been in the education stream in courses such as Educational Process in Nursing & Clinical Nursing Education and I continue to work with graduate students on a one-to-one basis, in major essays and theses. Most recently, I taught Clinical Nursing Education. I am intrigued by the processes that are embedded in teaching and learning and love to engage in scholarly dialogue about them and their application in a variety of contexts. Teaching in the educationally-focused courses gives me the opportunity to work with graduate students who are interested in educational processes in general, and in the clinical context in particular.