From Mentee to Mentor, A Rewarding Journey

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Pace University’s College of Health Professions alumna, Paule Valery Joseph, PhD, MS, FNP-BC, FAAN, found her passion for nursing and healthcare at a young age. Her journey of becoming an exceptional nurse scientist with multiple advanced degrees started from studying her mother’s career as the community nurse in their town in Venezuela. She recalls that as a child she did not understand much of what her mom did but watching her provide care for individuals in the community ignited a light inside of her to follow in her footsteps. As a now, first-generation PhD, she realizes the importance of having strong mentors from the beginning of an educational journey.

At the age of 16, she moved to the United States for the opportunity to go to college and obtain a nursing degree. After earning an associate and bachelor’s degree in nursing, she knew that she still wanted to learn more. Following the recommendation from a friend and the convenience of New York City and Pleasantville, she decided to check out what Pace University and the Lienhard School of Nursing had to offer. “I discovered that Pace had a curriculum with an emphasis in evidence-based care and an extremely fascinating course that Joanne Singleton, PhD, RN, FNP-BC, FNAP, FNYAM, FAAN, was teaching about cadaver dissection. It was the only nurse practitioner program that offered this particular course. Because of my love for biology, I knew this was where I was meant to be,” said Dr. Joseph.

She credits her faculty mentors at the Lienhard School of Nursing for motivating her to begin furthering her experience in research. In addition to Dr. Singleton, she expressed her gratitude towards Dean Emerita Harriet Feldman, PhD, RN, FAAN; Former Provost Marilyn Jaffe-Ruiz, EdD, RN; and Sandra Lewenson, EdD, RN. Dr. Joseph went on to explain, “It was my first experience working closely with university scholars and I learned so much from them. I had the opportunity of working with Dr. Jaffe-Ruiz and Dr. Feldman on research projects and on the Jonas Project.” As an LSN student, Dr. Joseph took advantage of every opportunity that crossed her path, including working with both Dean Emerita Harriet Feldman and Dr. Marilyn Jaffe-Ruiz on the book Nursing Leadership: A Concise Encyclopedia. “It was my first exposure to working with nurse scientists on a publication and I was able to contribute to several chapters and start developing my scholarship.” Through the Jonas Scholar implementation grant, she was awarded $500 to teach cultural competency—the ability to communicate with, understand, and effectively interact with people of all cultures—to nurses at Mount Sinai Hospital in NYC. “Despite its relatively small size, the grant served as a steppingstone, and made a meaningful impact in my career. It was my first award- my first grant that was peer-reviewed,” Dr. Joseph remarks. “I learned early on as a student that it is important to seize every opportunity you can and apply for grants and scholarships. It’s empowering to be peer-reviewed at that stage and realize that your ideas are valued.”

I learned early on as a student that it is important to seize every opportunity you can and apply for grants and scholarships. It’s empowering to be peer-reviewed at that stage and realize that your ideas are valued.

Her intention was to begin practicing after completing the Pace Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) program before applying to a doctoral program. However, the four inspiring nurse leaders she credits encouraged her to go for it. Dr. Joseph followed their advice and continued her educational journey at the University of Pennsylvania to earn her PhD in Nursing with a focus in Genomics. “I thought that I would be studying nursing history, based on my experience at Pace in Dr. Lewenson’s course The History of Nursing. This journey gave me the opportunity to dabble between nursing history and basic biology. My curiosity about the human body pushed me to study more about chemosensory disorders and diseases,” she explained. Her desire to study Genomics was influenced by Dr. Singleton’s course, “The classes I took at Pace intrigued me and prompted me to ask more questions, this led me to focus my studies in a more basic science area.”

Although Dr. Joseph chose an uncommon path of study, it positioned her as one of the few experts qualified to answer the many smell and taste questions that arose during the COVID-19 pandemic. “One of the things that I am very passionate about is the ability to create treatment modalities for patients and therapies that might not be pharmacological but that can help patients cope and have a better quality of life,” she said. “The more we understand, the more we can help people have better quality of life, connect better with the world around us, and develop relationships with those seeking guidance.”

Besides her research, Dr. Joseph is committed to different philanthropic initiatives around the world. She has a firm belief that when children are provided a healthy lifestyle in their early, formative years, it can change the future of a nation. She is heavily involved in the Amazing Grace Children’s Foundation, a project extremely important to her because their mission is to bridge access to medical care for children and women in low resource, under-served populations in Ghana and neighboring communities. As a nurse practitioner, she can provide the necessary care in these remote areas where the resources are very limited. To Dr. Joseph, this kind of work is unmatched because of the impact that they have on those families every single year. “Working with the Amazing Grace Children’s Foundation saved me at a time that was very difficult for me, it opened my eyes to ways in which I could use my skills to impact global health. The amount of learning that I have been able to acquire from this experience and how much I have learned from the people in the community helped me to see the world through a different lens,” she said. She believes nursing has opened doors and windows of opportunities for her, “Nursing is a wonderful profession, filled with many opportunities. We can have our voices heard and be active change agents.” She hopes that others realize of the impact and power (we) nurses have to create local and global change.

One of the most rewarding aspects of her career is watching her mentees and students achieve their goals and knowing that she has helped them is an amazing experience. Her advice to students is to have a mentor, ask questions, believe in themselves, and never be afraid to strive for more. To continue advising future leaders in healthcare, she expressed that she is always more than happy to guide anyone interested in this career by sharing her experiences and answering any questions to help keep them on the right path. “Being visible and available to share my experiences to those who want to do this type of career is very important. The path is not straight, nor is it ever perfect. I did not just wake up one day and become a scientist. It’s a lot of hard work and crucial to developing who you will become. The ability to be able to share these experiences with others is priceless in so many ways.”

Pace University’s College of Health Professions (CHP) is honored to welcome distinguished alumna, Paule Valery Joseph, PhD, MS, FNP-BC, FAAN, as the guest speaker for the CHP Faculty Colloquium and Reception, November 14, 2022. CHP would like to congratulate her on receiving the Brilliant New Investigator Award from The Council for the Advancement of Nursing Science and for being selected as the Inaugural AAN Fellow at the National Academy of Medicine.