Instructor, Mentor & Motivator: Jessica Bland Aims to Help Her Students Soar

Jessica Bland sees her role at Bryant & Stratton College as much more than an instructor. Rather, her goal is to light the flame that motivates her students to succeed.

In her welcome packet to students she quotes William Butler Yeats to summarize her teaching philosophy: “Education is not the filling of a pail, but he lighting of a fire.”

She tells students that her goal is not simply for them to recite facts verbatim, but to develop a passion for learning and embrace their calling.

She wants students to learn, and question.

“Continual research and life-long learning are facilitated through the development of critical thinking skills through open-ended questions,” she says. “It is my aim to assist students in the development of this mindset, which will benefit them in meeting their educational and life goals.”

Bland earned her Master of Science in Nursing degree from Maryville University. She also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with majors in Marketing and Management. After earning her nursing degree Bland spent several years working as an adult-geriatric nurse practitioner in a rural health clinic.

Now as a Supportive Care Nurse Practitioner at Phelps Health Hospital in Rollo, Missouri, she spends a lot of time collaborating with hospital staff, patients and their families to create care goals and ensure treatment is aligned with those goals.

As an instructor with Bryant & Stratton she is able to use her real-world experience to help students understand how classroom knowledge translates to on-the-job processes.

Bland teaches several courses, including Health & Human Service Organizations, Anatomy & Physiology I & II, Medical Terminology, Electronic Health Records, Human Disease and Pharmacology, Introduction to Medical Support and Services, Survey of Anatomy & Physiology and Introduction to Medical Insurance and Billing.