Patricia M. Prechter, R.N., M.S.N., Ed.D.
Professor of Nursing, Dean of the College of Nursing and Allied Health, Chair of the Department of Nursing

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Biography

Patricia M. Prechter is a professor of nursing and is the Notre Dame Class of 56 I Endowed Professor at University of Holy Cross in New Orleans, Louisiana. Dr. Prechter holds an Ed.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from University of New Orleans, a Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Alabama in Birmingham with a major in pediatrics (clinical-pediatrics and functional- clinical specialization) and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Mississippi.
Dr. Prechter joined the faculty at the University in 1982 as one of four nursing faculty who wrote the nursing curriculum. She has held several positions while at the University but was most recently named Dean of the College of Nursing and Allied Health and Chair of the Department of Nursing. She has over thirty-five years of nursing experience.
Dr. Prechter's clinical experiences include working with the acutely ill pediatric populations. She began her nursing career on an acute pediatric unit. Her master's thesis looked at The Effects of Planned Nursing Intervention on the Anxiety Level of Siblings of Children Diagnosed with Life-threatening Diseases and her dissertation research related to the Impact of Selected Variables on the Critical Thinking Skills of Baccalaureate Nursing Students.
Dr. Prechter is currently serving on the Louisiana State Board of Nursing for a second term. She is the immediate past Chair of the Board for Baptist Community Ministries (BCM). She was nominated as one of New Orleans Citi Business 2006 Women of the Year. She has served as a Program Evaluator for the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing and she was commissioned as a member of the Louisiana Health Care Commission. She has been awarded the Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Foundation Endowed Professorship III and the Notre Dame Class of 56 Endowed Professorship II. She has been elected into Who's Who American Teachers several times and she was a Great One Hundred Nurse.

Military Experience
Dr. Prechter was commissioned as an Army Nurse Corp officer in the Louisiana Army National Guard in 1978. She retired January 2008 as a Colonel, State Chief Nurse and Deputy Commander of Louisiana's Medical Command. She was the first female Colonel in the Louisiana Army National Guard and retired as the highest ranking female in the Louisiana Army National Guard (LAARNG). She has received numerous army medals to include the four Army Achievement Medals, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Medal, Service in Southwest Asia Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, Louisiana War Cross, four Army Commendation Medals, three Meritorious Service Medals, five bronze fleur-de-lis and fifth bronze oak leaf cluster. She is a veteran of Desert Storm. She was awarded the Legion of Merit Award for meritorious service as the medical commander in the Louisiana Super Dome during Hurricane Katrina, June 2006. She is a charter member of Women in the Military Association.

Professional Organizations
American Nurses Association
Sigma Theta Tau International Nursing Honor Society, Xi Psi Chapter at Large
National League for Nursing
Sigma Tau Delta, Alpha Xi Nu Chapter
Phi Delta Kappa
Kappa Gamma Pi
Kappa Delta Pi
Charter member Women in the Military Association

Publications

Dr. Prechter has written, reviewed and edited for numerous publishers to include Prentice-Hall, Western Schools, and Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Coauthored a chapter in Nurses on the Front Line: When Disaster Strikes (1878-2010). The book was published by Springer Publishing Company. The title of the chapter was "A Tale of Two Shelters: A Katrina Story, 2005."

Courses

NSG 203
NSG 205
NSG 403