The team at UNCLCN would like to welcome Barbara Walsh back to the team! Read about our “newest” team member below!
Barbara Walsh is a New York native who first earned a degree in biology and after volunteering on a student run volunteer ambulance (SAVAC) at SUNY Oswego, she realized her interest was not in bench science but rather with a more people-oriented career. Barbara became certified as an EMT and qualified for all SAVAC positions including dispatcher and ambulance driver. From there, she went on to earn a BS in nursing at the University of Southern Maine. Her first nursing position was in the newborn nursery at Maine Medical Center, and it was there that Barbara realized how much she enjoyed teaching new mothers and became aware of health disparities. She went on to become a Parent-Child Health nurse in rural Maine and, noting the lack of resources for many who did not have a voice, an interest in public health was born.
Barbara moved to Virginia where she earned an MPH/MSN in community health nursing from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). During this time, she was a preceptor for nursing students in her role of school nurse and found teaching to be rewarding, plus she could share her passion for public health. Barbara went on to be a clinical instructor at VCU and later earned a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) from Old Dominion University. She has also taught full time at the University of Maryland in Baltimore and Barton College and as adjunct at Marymount College, Walden University and William Peace. In 2019, Barbara was thrilled to be a nurse planner at the UNC Chapel Hill Center for Lifelong Learning (CLL) in the School of Nursing (SON).
Along with planning full day nursing conferences, Barbara also became the nurse planner for the UNC Lineberger Cancer Network (UNCLCN). This position continued as CLL moved from the SON to the Friday Center during the pandemic. She enjoyed working with the UNCLCN team and was disappointed when continuing nursing education at the Friday Center was in flux and her work with UNCLCN ended. Barbara moved to Wilmington last year where she wears several hats at the New Hanover Department of Health and Human Services, including COVID nurse, mpox nurse, and refugee coordinator. However, Barbara continued to participate in UNCLCN webinars for CNE and was the recipient of their newsletter.
This summer, she was excited to see a temporary part time position as nurse planner advertised in their newsletter. After obtaining permission from her supervisor for work outside of the county, she submitted her application, and the rest is history. Barbara is happy to be working with her former colleagues and an expanded team as she describes them as among the best coworkers she has ever had.
In her spare time, you will find Barbara reading, searching for the ultimate chocolate chip cookie (which she may have found at Crumbl in Wilmington) and decorating her new house. She currently has eight cats who adopted her (she did not go looking for any of them) and enjoys spending time with them although her role seems to be primarily waitstaff. She misses having a dog and the volunteer work she did with one dog, Sandy, a 90-pound mixed breed rescue who became a certified therapy dog. Sandy and Barbara visited various units at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center, and nursing homes. Sandy was also certified with Reading Education Assistance Dogs (READ), and she savored having children share reading time with her.
Barbara also plans to return to the cat and dog rescue work she did in the Raleigh area, which included fostering cats and dogs and transporting dogs from shelters to various homes and rescues in northern states where there is a shortage of dogs and cats due to strict spay/neuter laws.