Her mother’s diagnosis and treatment for leukemia taught Ann Berger, Ph.D., compassion for cancer patients and their families. Her father’s work-related transfers and several moves taught her resiliency and the ability to accept change as a child. Three decades as a clinical oncology nurse have allowed her to apply real-life circumstances to her teaching.
For certain, Dr. Berger’s life experiences have helped shape her academic nursing career. On Wednesday, Dr. Berger’s work as an educator will be recognized, when she receives an Outstanding Teaching Award at the Annual Faculty Meeting. The meeting will begin at 4 p.m. in the Durham Research Center’s Scott auditorium.
“I really share this award with all of my colleagues. I’m humbled by it,” said Dr. Berger, associate professor and Florence Niedfelt Professor in the College of Nursing. “If it weren’t for all of my skilled mentors and colleagues at the college, I wouldn’t be the teacher that I am today.”
Bernice Yates, Ph.D., associate dean for research in the College of Nursing, was among those who nominated Dr. Berger for the teaching award. Dr. Berger’s work with cancer patients and her research into cancer-related fatigue enhance her teaching, Dr. Yates said, noting her use of case studies to make content “come alive.”
“Dr. Berger possesses intellectual creativity and critical thinking in the approach to teaching and learning, hallmarks of a distinguished educator,” Dr. Yates wrote in her nomination. “She exemplifies ways to critically and creatively think about the subject.”
Most often, Dr. Berger has taught nursing students about care for cancer patients. For many years, she coordinated the third-semester nursing course dealing with the care of the chronically ill. Within the last year, she began to teach a course on advanced oncology nursing to master’s level nursing students. In the fall, she’ll begin to educate doctoral level students on concept development, or the selection and development of concepts in which they’ll specialize during doctoral study and their dissertation.
Dr. Berger began her teaching career shortly after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in nursing in 1971. She taught briefly at St. Joseph’s School of Nursing and at UNMC in the early 1970s, then worked as a staff nurse at hospitals in Washington and California before she and her husband moved back to Omaha in 1981. She earned her master’s degree in nursing in 1984, and joined the College of Nursing faculty later that year. She earned her Ph.D. in nursing in 1996. Over the years, she has enhanced her abilities as an educator by maintaining a clinical practice at least one day a week as a staff nurse and later as a clinical nurse specialist in oncology.
Over time, Dr. Berger said, both cancer care and the profession of nursing have changed dramatically. Her family’s frequent moves prepared her with an ability to accept change, she said.
“Few cancer care practices remain the standard of care for very long. Better ways to treat the patient’s disease and related side effects are constantly being developed and integrated into practice,” Dr. Berger said. “I’m open to change, yet I respect how hard it is for all of us as human beings to continually adapt to new practices.”
That’s where “resiliency” comes, Dr. Berger said. She applies the word to many aspects of her life, even displaying it as a license plate (REZYLNT).
“I believe that you have to work hard to make something happen, and it requires continued effort,” Dr. Berger said. “I see challenges as opportunities. I’m very proud of how nursing has grown as a profession, but we know it didn’t grow in a straight line. We must be resilient in everything we do in order to reach our goals.”
In addition to teaching her students to be resilient, Dr. Berger also stresses the importance of thoroughness. She says that in a clinical setting, nurses are the “surveillance monitor” of health care.
Trixy Cotter, a College of Nursing graduate, wrote in her nomination of Dr. Berger that she ensured that the nursing students were prepared for clinic each day.
“She consistently quizzed us on nursing plans and medications, ensured that we had checked laboratory values, and continually challenged us to think critically in order to prepare us for the next level and for our future in nursing,” Cotter wrote.
The daughter of a personnel director, Dr. Berger said that she shares her father’s interest in putting people in the best circumstances to succeed.
“I’m interested in who people are, how their brain functions,” Dr. Berger said. “I try to help them to be the best they can be. I really enjoy educating college-age young adults. It’s a wonderful privilege.”
Dr. Berger’s research is focused on cancer-related fatigue. The symptoms were misunderstood until about 1990, when the Oncology Nursing Society fostered efforts to teach persons with cancer how to communicate the severity of their fatigue. Currently, Dr. Berger is the principal investigator of a $1.5 million, NIH-funded grant that is studying the fatigue of women with breast cancer who are undergoing chemotherapy. Ultimately, scientists hope to find interventions that are successful in easing the fatigue of cancer patients and their families. Of the 9.4 million people living with cancer, Dr. Berger said, it is estimated that about 3 million suffer from chronic fatigue. In addition, their family members can suffer, as well.
“Caregiving demands can become so great that they can become all that a person does,” Dr. Berger said. “Fatigue is very complex. It’s multi-dimensional. We’re looking for interventions that will help patients and their families.”
Dr. Berger said she feels blessed to have her position at UNMC. She and her husband, Tom, have two children and one grandchild.
“This role is just an excellent match for my talents. I really enjoy the work,” Dr. Berger said. “UNMC is such a great place to be right now. There’s a lot of positive momentum, and I’m really excited to be a part of it.”