by Public Relations Staff
Sharon Christman, Ph.D., has been named the assistant dean of the Cedarville University School of Nursing and director of the graduate nursing program. Christman joined the Cedarville faculty in 2009 and formerly served as a professor of nursing and director of research and fellow for the Center for Bioethics.
A 1992 graduate of Cedarville, Christman received her M.S. and Ph.D. in nursing from Ohio State University. As professor of nursing, Christman received Cedarville’s Faculty Scholar of the Year award in 2010 and the Cedarville University Service Award in 2015.
In 2007-08, Christman was appointed to the American Heart Association’s APVD steering committee and was recognized as a fellow of the American Heart Association in 2010.
Christman additionally partners with the Malawi Passion Center for Children’s Community as director of the health network and travels to Malawi regularly to train health professionals. She said her experiences abroad have helped broaden her perspective as a researcher and professor.
“I have a better understanding of people and culture, and yet even cultural differences can be overcome in the name of Jesus Christ,” Christman said.
Christman specializes in medical-surgical nursing, specifically cardiac and peripheral vascular disease. Her scholarly work has been published by the Journal of Applied Nursing Research, the Journal of Vascular Nursing and the Journal of Progress in Cardiovascular Nursing.
Christman’s current research is in the area of spiritual care, an area that she says is an important one for Christians.
“When Christ came he addressed both spiritual and physical needs,” she said. “We can do the same in the name of Jesus Christ.” Christman has helped the school of nursing develop the faith, hope and love model for spiritual care.
The model has been presented to local hospitals, nursing homes and hospices and published in the Journal of Christian Nursing. Christman will present the model at the Healthcare Chaplaincy Network National Conference in April 2016.
Cedarville University’s School of Nursing is the only Christian nursing program to offer a master’s degree in global public health nursing, reflecting the department’s vision to train excellent nurse practitioners to evangelize for the kingdom of Jesus Christ.
Located in southwest Ohio, Cedarville University is an accredited, Christ-centered, Baptist institution with an enrollment of 3,711 undergraduate, graduate and online students in more than 100 areas of study. Founded in 1887, Cedarville is recognized nationally for its authentic Christian community, rigorous academic programs, strong graduation and retention rates, accredited professional and health science offerings and leading student satisfaction ratings.