Assistant Professor
Education
Biography
Dr. Kerns earned her EdD in Instructional Leadership, Nurse Education concentration, from The University of Alabama, a degree choice informed by her research and teaching philosophies. She earned her MS as a Family Nurse Practitioner from Clemson University. She obtained her Certified Nurse Educator (CNE) from the National League for Nursing. She has over 25 years of nursing education experience and teaches graduate students.
As an EdD-trained researcher, she leads all projects as PI and first author, with a growing record of funded research and peer-reviewed publications. Her research focuses on preparing and supporting nursing faculty and educators in rural contexts to strengthen the capacity of nursing education. She welcomes collaboration grounded in shared scholarly goals, mutual contribution, and academic rigor.
She chairs a college committee, serves on the university level, and serves as the chair of the Southern Nursing Research Society’s Nursing Education Research Interest and Implementation Group. She is a member of Sigma Theta Tau International, the National League for Nursing, and the Alabama League for Nursing.
Her clinical background is primarily in medical-surgical. She also has experience in industry, informatics, primary care, orthopedics, school nursing, geriatrics, pediatrics, and obstetrics. She has participated in international service-learning trips.