Mary Coleman, MSN, RN, CPN earned her BSN from Carson-Newman University, where she was honored with the Outstanding Graduate and Leadership awards for the Department of Nursing. Mary began her nursing career in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at Wake Forest Baptist Health, where she received the Nursing Excellence Award. During her time in the PICU, she worked at the bedside and with Virtual PICU Systems as a Site Coordinator, enhancing the unit’s ability to improve patient outcomes. Her experience also spans home healthcare and outpatient surgery. Driven by a passion for teaching and advancing pediatric nursing education, she completed her MSN in Nursing Education at Duke University.
Upon completion of her MSN, she joined Carson-Newman University as an Assistant Professor of Nursing, where she taught Pediatrics, Community Health and Pharmacology. She coordinated an international exchange with students from South Korea and led several medical mission trips. During this period, she also worked in the PICU at East Tennessee Children’s Hospital and was a Primary Transport Nurse for the Pediatric Critical Care Transport Team. She later became the PICU Assistant Manager and managed a 14 bed PICU, 2-bed Trauma PICU and the Transport Team.
Her passion for nursing education led her to join Appalachian State’s Nursing Program as a clinical instructor in Fall 2019. In alignment with her commitment to making education accessible for working nurses, she became the RN-BSN Coordinator in Fall 2020. She teaches throughout the RN-BSN program, with an interest in best practices in online education. In addition, she is an AgriSafe Nurse Scholar and Certified Pediatric Nurse.
Mary has been dedicated to serving patients, families and nurses in rural Appalachia since the beginning of her career and her role at Appalachian State allows her to continue supporting this community. Mary currently works remotely for the university, coming to campus for special events. She lives in Decatur, GA with her husband and three children.
Title: RN-BSN Program Coordinator
Email address: Email me
Phone: (828) 262-8054
Fax: (828) 262-8066