Gadsden State nursing instructor Fuller claims national honor

Special to The Times
·3 min read

Gadsden State Community College nursing instructor Belinda Terrell Fuller is the only person from the South and from a community college faculty to receive the 2023 Nurse’s Touch Award from ATI Nursing Education.

ATI, a leading provider of online programs for nursing students, bestows the award on teachers who both convey the technical knowledge and skill to be safe and competent nurses, and set an example for their students, according to a GSCC news release.

Nominees are selected based on their leadership, professional communication, wellness/self-care and knowledge of nursing technology.

Gadsden State nursing instructor Belinda Terrell Fuller, who has nearly a half-century of experience in the nursing field, is one of four national winners of the 2023 Nurse’s Touch Award from ATI Nursing Education.
Gadsden State nursing instructor Belinda Terrell Fuller, who has nearly a half-century of experience in the nursing field, is one of four national winners of the 2023 Nurse’s Touch Award from ATI Nursing Education.

Fuller received the award during the National Nurse Educators Summit in San Diego. The others honored were Gary Beck from the Northern Career Institute in Ohio, Dawn DePriest from Washington State University and Paula Kustenbauder from Penn State.

“When I found out I won, I really could not believe it,” Fuller said. “It was such a shock. I’m quite humbled.”

Cynthia Maddox, director of Gadsden State’s nursing program, said the awards go “to the most highly skilled nursing educators and professors at colleges and universities. We are beyond proud of Belinda.”

Fuller has nearly 50 years of experience as a nurse, a field that she calls “a calling.”

As a 16-year-old high school student in Albertville, she told her guidance counselor that she wanted to attend the University of Alabama to become a nurse. That wasn’t in the cards financially, but she qualified for a Pell Grant and in 1975 enrolled at Gadsden State.

She worked as a hospital technician while carrying a full course load and was certified as a registered nurse in 1977. She later earned a nursing degree from Jacksonville State University.

During her career, Fuller has worked in coronary care, cardiac rehabilitation and general medical and surgical care, and as a patient educator and childbirth educator.

“Through the decades, I have held babies as they took their first breath and held far too many folks as they took their last breath,” she said. “It’s such a privilege to be with patients and families when they are the most vulnerable; to know you have made a difference in their lives, even if it’s just comforting them at the end.

“Nursing has to be a calling,” she said. “If you don’t feel called, you’ll never be happy in this profession.”

Fuller became an adjunct nursing instructor at Gadsden State in 1996, and moved to a full-time role in 2001. She now works with coordinator Bridget Rogers in the Licensed Practical Nursing program at GSCC’s Valley Street Campus.

She said that program, which allows students to go to work at hospitals, medical offices, clinics and extended care facilities after just three semesters of training, is vital because of the ongoing nursing shortage.

Fuller said Gadsden State graduates have gone on to be amazing nurses, medical researchers, nurse practitioners and doctors.

“One of my greatest joys is when students graduate and I hear about them being successful,” she said. “They accomplish so much; much greater things than I ever have. It is humbling for me when they say how we prepared them as nurses when they complete our program. They tell me how much Gadsden State means to them.”

She also enjoys hearing from people who say that they or their loved ones have received excellent care from one of her students, reflecting the quality of the education they received at Gadsden State.

Mullinax called Fuller the quintessential “professional nurse,” as well as a role model and coach for students.

“Belinda puts patients first and teaches students how to be their advocate,” she said. “She maintains a professional appearance at all times as well as a professional demeanor, especially with students.”

Visit  www.gadsdenstate.edu/nursing for more information on Gadsden State’s nursing program.

Applications for the traditional and mobility Registered Nursing Programs are being accepted through May 19. Applications for the Spring 2024 cohort for the Practical Nursing Program will open Aug. 1.

This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Gadsden State's Fuller honored as nursing educator