Dr. Patricia Pence Ed.D, MSN, RN, CNE
Associate Professor
- About
- Education
- Awards & Honors
- Selected Research
Biography
Patricia Pence joined Mennonite College of Nursing as an Assistant Professor, after teaching for 17 years at Illinois Valley Community College. She received her ADN degree at Illinois Valley Community College, BSN at Bradley University, MSN at Northern Illinois University, and a Doctorate in Educational Leadership at University of Phoenix online program. She has been recognized with several innovation awards for teaching excellence and the Illinois Board of Higher Education Nurse Educator Award. Her research interests are active learning, academic motivation, nursing student retention, and incorporating the Next Gen NCLEX Case Studies in class.
Current Courses
NUR 340.091 Pathophysiology & Pharmacotherapeutics In Nursing II: RN To BSN
NUR 239.001 Pathophysiology & Pharmacotherapeutics Nursing I:Prelicensure
NUR 239.002 Pathophysiology & Pharmacotherapeutics Nursing I:Prelicensure
Teaching Interests & Areas
Pathophysiology and pharmacology.
Research Interests & Areas
Active learning, academic motivation, nursing student retention, and incorporating the Next Gen NCLEX Case Studies in class.
EDD Educational Leadership, Curriculum and Instruction
University of Phoenix
MSN Clinical Nurse Specialist Older Adult Health
Northern Illinois University
DeKalb, Illinois
BSN Nursing
Bradley University
Peoria, Illinois
RN Nursing
Illinois Valley Community College
Oglesby, Illinois
Other
Illinois Valley Community College
Oglesby, Illinois
ISU Impact Award 2025
Illinois State University
2025
Outstanding College Teacher Award
Mennonite College of Nursing
2023
Midwest Nursing Research Society Nursing Education RIIG Mid-Career Investigator Award
Midwest Nursing Research Society
2023
Dr. Kathleen A. Hogan Faculty Development Award
Dr. Kathleen A. Hogan
2021
Top 100 Global Leaders
Flipped Learning Global Initiative
2017
Stephen Charry Faculty Excellence Award
Illinois Valley Community College
2016
Nurse Educator Fellowship Award
Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE)
2010
Associate Degree Nursing Scholarship
Organization for Associate Degree Nursing
2008
Academic Innovations in Learning Award
Illinois Valley Community College
2004
Grants and Contracts
Evaluating metacognitive exam wrappers and test anxiety in prelicensure nursing students.
Patricia Pence, MyoungJin Kim, Robin Trost.
Mennonite College of Nursing. April 2025 - June 30 2025
Exam wrappers and test anxiety: Empowering prelicensure nursing students for success.
Patricia L Pence, MyoungJin Kim, Robin Trost.
Illinois Nurses Foundation. August 2025 - August 2026
Retaining Future Nurses: A Retrospective Longitudinal Cohort Analysis of BSN Student Retention
Patricia Pence, Janet LoVerde, Denise Hammer, Teresa Novy, Theresa Adelman- Mullally, Mark Zablocki.
Illinois State University. June 2025
Center for Teaching and Learning Teaching Innovation Grant received for Evaluation of The Innovative Card Game Collaborate: Learning IPE One Hand at A Time.
Susan Watkins, Valerie Wright, Patricia Pence, Judy Neubrander.
ISU. October 1 2022
Instructional Innovation Grant
Patricia Pence.
Center for Integrated Professional Development. July 20 2022 - 2022
Mennonite College of Nursing Travel Grant
Patricia L Pence.
Mennonite College of Nursing. September 2022 - 2022
Mennonite College of Nursing University Research Grant
Patricia L Pence, Joshua Newport.
Illinois State University. May 2022 - June 2022
Sigma Xi Pi chapter grant
Patricia L Pence.
Sigma Xi Pi chapter. April 2022 - 2023
SoTL University Research Grant
Patricia Pence.
Illinois State University. October 19 2022 - 2023
Summer Research Fellowship Grant
Patricia L Pence.
Mennonite College of Nursing. May 2022 - August 2022
Important behaviors for nursing student preceptee success in a capstone clinical course
Nancy Novotny, Patricia L Pence, Megan Rappleyea.
Illinois State University. August 2021 - June 2022
Mennonite College of Nursing University Research Grant
Patricia L Pence.
Illinois State University. November 2021 - May 2022
Mastery of pharmacology concepts using Assessment Technologies Institute
Patricia L Pence.
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. June 3 2020 - 2020
Mastery of pharmacology concepts using Assessment Technologies Institute
Patricia L Pence.
Sigma Theta Tau XiPi Chapter. June 30 2020 - 2020
New Faculty Start Up Grant
Patricia Pence.
Mennonite College of Nursing. January 2019 - August 2019
SoTL Seed Grant
Patricia Pence.
SoTL. 2019 - 2019
SoTL Travel Grant
Patricia Pence.
SoTL. 2019 - 2019
Summer Research Fellowship Grant
Patricia Pence.
Mennonite College of Nursing. 2019 - 2019
Travel Grant
Patricia L Pence.
Mennonite College of Nursing. October 2019 - October 2019
Travel Grant
Patricia Pence.
Mennonite College of Nursing. March 2019 - March 2019
Predictors of retention among undergraduate students attending associate-degree nursing programs in Illinois
Patricia Pence.
National Organization for Associate Degree Nursing. November 2011 - 2012
Magna Teaching Professor Conference Special Grant
Patricia L Pence.
Center for Teaching and Learning, Illinois State University. - 2020
Book, Chapter
TEACH Students to THINK Like a Nurse: Transformational Strategies that will Prepare Students for Practice
Patricia Pence.
(2017)
Journal Article
Study of nurse educators' preparedness to teach and assess clinical judgment in alignment with the Next Generation NCLEX
Patricia Pence, Lisa D. Brodersen, Seon Yoon Chung, Vicki Moran, MyoungJin Kim.
Nurse Educator, 51 (1), E78-E83, (2026)
The impact of simulation-enhanced interprofessional education on student knowledge and satisfaction: A multivariate analysis across fields of study
Valerie Wright, Antony Ricardo Joseph, Patricia Pence, Susan Watkins.
Nurse Education Today, 158, 106952, (2026)
Comparing online simulation and NCLEX-style questions for clinical judgment: A mixed methods study.
Patricia Pence, .
(2025)
Promoting Inclusion Through Diverse Simulation Equipment.
Patricia Pence, Valerie Wright, MyoungJin Kim, Kileigh Guido.
Nurse Educator, 50 (4), E246–E247, (2025)
The impact of simulation-enhanced interprofessional education on student knowledge and satisfaction: A multivariate analysis across fields of study.
Valerie Wright, Antony Ricardo Joseph, Patricia Pence, Susan Watkins.
Nurse education today, 158, 106952, (2025), 10.1016/j.nedt.2025.106952
U.S. graduate nurses' transition into practice: Perspectives on simulation-based education and cultural awareness in caring for diverse patients.
Patricia Pence, Valerie M. Wright, MyoungJin Kim, Kileigh Guido.
Nurse Education in Practice, 87, 104477, (2025)
Think Aloud Approach to Model Clinical Judgment in Next Generation Case Studies
Patricia L Pence.
Nurse Educator, 47 (3), (2022)
Flipping to Motivate
Patricia Pence, Susan Rose Franzen, MyoungJin Kim.
Nurse Educator, 46 (1), 43-48, (2021), 10.1097/nne.0000000000000814
Flipping to motivate: Perceptions among undergraduate nursing students.
Patricia L Pence, Susan Rose Franzen, MyoungJin Kim.
Nurse Educator, 46 (1), 43-48, (2021)
Guided notes to engage students in a Zoom class
First Name L Name.
Nurse Educator, (2021)
The medicine cabinet as a strategy to lead a Zoom class in pharmacology
First Name L Name.
Nurse Educator, (2021)
Multidimensional variables influencing program completion: A three-year cohort study of associate degree and practical nursing students
Patricia L Pence, Matthew P Suerth.
Teaching and Learning in Nursing Journal, 15 (3), 159-163, (2020)
Telling Stories to help under undergraduate students learn concepts on genetics.
Patricia L Pence.
Journal of Nursing Education, (2020)
Under fire: bringing realism into a lesson on burn care
Patricia Pence.
Nurse Eduator, 45 (5), (2020)
Simulation-Enhanced Interprofessional Education for Ambulatory Care Registered Nurses and Health Professions Students
Susan Watkins, Patricia L Pence, Judy Neubrander.
Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing, 54 (5), 226-232
The faces of Parkinson's: Helping students realize it is more than tremors.
First Name L Name.
Journal of Nursing Education, 61 (4), 221
Manuscript
Simulation-enhanced interprofessional education for ambulatory care registered nurses and health professions students
Patricia Pence, Susie Watkins.
Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing, 54 (5), 226-232, (2023)
Response to a Letter to the Editor: “Student satisfaction and self-confidence in learning with virtual simulations”.
Patricia L Pence.
Teaching and Learning in Nursing
Student satisfaction and self-confidence in learning with virtual simulations
Patricia L Pence.
Teaching and Learning in Nursing, 17 (1), 31-35
Newsletter
Plagiarism among Undergraduate Students in an Online Course
Patricia Pence.
Department of Health and Human Services Office of Research Integrity Newsletter, (2012)
Other
Tools to enhance patient-provider communication about medication management and adherence in adult and older adult patients: A scoping review protocol.
Patricia Pence, Kinga Brudz.
Open Science Framework, (2025)
“Flipping” a first-year medical-surgical associate degree registered nursing course: A 2-year pilot study
Patricia Pence.
Teaching and Learning in Nursing Journal, 11 (2), 52-57, (2016)
Plagiarism: Using a collaborative approach in an online allied health professions course
Patricia Pence.
Nurse Educator, 37 (1), 12-16, (2012)
Transitioning the Practical Nursing Student into Practice: Outcomes of a Geriatric Initiative
Patricia Pence.
Teaching and Learning in Nursing, 6 (3), 131-138, (2011)
Transitioning the Practical Nursing Student into Practice: Outcomes of a Geriatric Initiative
Patricia Pence.
Journal of Practical Nursing, 61 (4), (2011)
Emotional intelligence, motivation, and retention among undergraduate students attending associate-degree nursing programs in Illinois.
Patricia Pence.
ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, (2010)
The relationship between perceived quality of life and attitudes toward advance directive decisions in older adult nursing home residents
Patricia Pence.
ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, (2000)
Presentations
Exam Wrappers, Test Anxiety, Demographics, and Exam Grades in First-Semester Nursing Students.
Patricia Pence, Robin Trost, MyoungJin Kim.
Sigma 37th International Nursing Research Congress, Toronto, Canada, July, 2026
Pill Passport: A quality improvement initiative to optimize patient education on home medications through usability testing.
Patricia Pence.
MCN Scholarship Virtual Symposium: Advancing Patient Care Through Research, Quality Improvement, and Innovation., Normal, IL, April 9, 2026
Pill Passport: Optimizing patient education tools through usability testing.
Patricia Pence, Rachel Gonzalez, Kyle Formella, Safura Sultana, Ryan Klute, Kinga Brudz.
Sigma 36th International Nursing Research Congress 2025, Seattle, WA, July 19, 2025
A qualitative exploration of diverse simulation learning experiences for graduate nurses.
Valerie Wright, Patricia Pence, MyoungJin Kim, Kileigh Guido.
49th MNRS Annual Research Conference, Indianapolis, IN, March 27, 2025
Supporting diverse simulation learning experiences for undergraduate nursing students.
Patricia Pence, Valerie Wright.
International Meeting on Simulation in Healthcare 2025., Orlando, FL, January 11, 2025
A Pilot Study on Nurse Educators’ Preparedness to Teach and Assess Next Generation NCLEX
Patricia Pence, Lisa Brodersen, Seon Yoon Chung, Vicki Moran, MyoungJin Kim.
34th International Nursing Research Congress. Sigma International, NA, August, 2023
Nurse Educators Discuss Preparing Students for Practice and NGN with Unbound Scenarios
Patricia Pence.
Nurse Educators Discuss Preparing Students for Practice and NGN with Unbound Scenarios, Online, March 7, 2023
Nurse educators' preparedness to teach and assess Next Generation NCLEX
Patricia L Pence.
Sigma Induction, Normal, October 1, 2022
Pilot on exam wrappers, metacognition, and retention: Initial study to improve education access and quality
Patricia L Pence, Sandra Nielsen, Megan Rappleyea.
State of the Science Congress on Nursing Research, Social & Structural Determinants of Health, Washington, DC, September, 2022
Second-degree prelicensure student perceptions of behaviors important for preceptee success in a capstone clinical
Patricia Pence, Nancy Novotny, Megan Rappleyea.
Midwest Nursing Research Society 46th annual research conference, Schaumburg, IL, March, 2022
First-semester student perceptions of NGN case studies to teach pathophysiology and pharmacology
Patricia L Pence.
NurseThink for Nurse Educators: Next Gen Learning: Fundamentals, NCLEX, and Beyond, Florida, February 18, 2022
Simulation in the Classroom! Critical Thinking Day 1
Megan Rappleyea, Patricia Pence, Joanna Willett.
CTLT Teaching and Learning Symposium, Normal, IL, January, 2022
Nursing student perceptions of Assessment Technologies Institute Resources
Patricia L Pence, Nancy Novotny, Megan Megan.
ISU CTLT Symposium, Normal, IL, January, 2022
Nurse educators' perspectives on Next Generation NCLEX
Patricia L Pence.
Midwest Nursing Research Society Think Tank Meeting, NA, October 20, 2021
Encouraging student excellence and success
Patricia L Pence.
MCN faculty meeting, Normal, August, 2021
Students' perceptions of Assessment Technologies Institute resources use in a pharmacology course
Patricia L Pence, MyoungJin Kim, Nancy Novotny, Megan Rappleyea.
13th Annual Nuts & Bolts for Nurse Educators Conference: Next Gen Learning: From Critical Thinking to Clinical Judgment to NCLEX and Beyond, Minneapolis, MN, August 6, 2021
Improving mastery of pharmacology concepts using Assessment Technologies Institute
Patricia Pence.
XiPi Induction Ceremony, Online, April 10, 2021
Strategies for online flipped learning
Patricia L Pence.
St. John's School of Nursing Professional Development, Springfield, IL, August 7, 2020
Virtual simulations and Perception of Learning Among Accelerated BSN Students
Patricia L Pence.
2019 Iggy's Boot Camp for Nurse Educators, Denver, CO, October 18, 2019
Finding Active Learning Moments for your Nursing Class
Patricia L Pence.
St. John's School of Nursing Professional Development, Springfield, IL, May 23, 2019
Academic motivation, learning styles, and flipped learning.
Patricia L Pence.
MCN graduate research course, Normal, IL, April, 2019
Finding Flipping Moments for your Nursing Class
Patricia L Pence.
Mennonite College of Nursing Development, Normal, IL, March 26, 2019
Academic motivation, learning styles, and program completion: A three-year cohort study of ADN and PN students.
Patricia L Pence, Matthew P Suerth.
Nurse Educator Institute, Memphis, TN, March 10, 2019
Flipped learning: Reach every student every day
Patricia L Pence.
ISU Symposium, Normal, January, 2019
Champion Flipped Learning: Reach Every Student Every Day
Patricia Pence.
Illinois State University Symposium, Normal, IL, January 9, 2019