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By Marlena E. Bermel
A Lifetime of Learning
UNM College of Nursing Alumna Dorothy Posey Has Dedicated Her Life to Nursing Education, Blending Two Passions to Teach Other Nurses
Dorothy Posey comes from a family of teachers. Her mother, her aunts – all of the women who influenced her life – were educators. When she chose a different path and decided to become a nurse, she had no idea that these two professions would intersect to open doors she never imagined.
Posey began her career at Presbyterian Hospital in Albuquerque. She attended the University of Albuquerque, where she received her associate’s degree and became a RN. She then decided to pursue her bachelor of science in nursing from The University of New Mexico.
While working at Presbyterian, Posey became the clinical nurse educator for the critical care unit. It was through this position that she found a passion for nursing and teaching.
The best decision I made was to become a nurse. From nursing I developed a love for education, and I had the opportunity to put them both together
“The best decision I made was to become a nurse,” Posey says. “From nursing I developed a love for education, and I had the opportunity to put them both together.”
Posey went on teach other nurses at Presbyterian Hospital, St. Joseph’s Hospital (now Lovelace Medical Center) and Kindred Hospital, where she retired as the director of Nursing Education. During this time, she also earned a master’s degree in Health Education from UNM.
Then, Posey decided to go into business for herself. She opened a training center for the American Heart Association, certifying nurses in basic life support, advanced cardiac life support, pediatric advanced life support and other licensing requirements.
Posey worked in nursing education for so many years that by the time she retired in December 2021, she was teaching the children of the nurses she had once taught.
“I've touched many lives in my time a nurse,” she says. “And it's just been so enjoyable. Words can't even explain how I feel about it.”
Talking to Posey’s former classmate and good friend Beverly Bradley, you get a good understanding of her influence.
“Dorothy has done so much for nurses,” Bradley says. “She’s given people incentive to go back to school. She would work for free to help people.”
Since retiring from teaching last year, Posey has been living in California with her sister.
She gives this advice for future nurses: “You can go into nursing and branch off in any direction you want to go,” she says. “It is not limiting. That’s the joy of it.”
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College of Nursing, Education, Top Stories