Dr. Jill Ensminger Joins Niagara University as Founding Director of M.S. in Nursing Education Program

When Dr. Jill Ensminger started her nursing career, it was all about the babies.

"When I was five years old, I asked my mom who takes care of babies when they're born, and my mom said nurses take care of babies," she explained. "I said well, then, I want to be a nurse. So, my ultimate dream always was to be a nurse to take care of newborn babies."

Dr. Ensminger was a candy striper at her local hospital and earned her CNA during high school. She went on to earn her LPN and realized her dream of working with babies when she took a job in the newborn nursery at Sisters of Charity Hospital in Buffalo, N.Y., upon obtaining her RN degree.

As she worked toward her degrees, Dr. Ensminger met a nursing educator who "exemplified caring" and led her to consider becoming an educator, herself, so she could make a more significant impact on her patients.

"I was extremely inspired by one of the faculty members," she said. "I thought that if her example left such an impression on me, then I could leave that impression on others and have an impact on how care was provided to the community."

After obtaining her bachelor's and master's degrees, Dr. Ensminger taught in an associate degree program at Harford Community College in Maryland for three years before moving to Albany and joining the faculty at the hospital-based Belanger School of Nursing and at Excelsior College. In 2019, she joined Russell Sage College as assistant professor of practice, where she assisted in implementing and instructing a course in family and community health, supervised students in the community clinical setting, and established and maintained relationships with community organizations.

"I had an amazing experience focusing on community health nursing," she said.

Again, her desire to make an impact led her to earn her Ph.D. in public health in 2021. She noted that this focus enabled her to create relationships not only with her patients, but with the nurses and the community, as well.

Dr. Ensminger served as a nursing program director at Siena College and as an outpatient clinical educator at St. Peter's Health Partners before returning to her Western New York roots and joining Niagara University as inaugural director of its new master's degree in nursing education program.

"I'm looking forward to working collaboratively with faculty and instructional designers to create an environment that's inclusive, that will provide opportunity for exchange of knowledge, and to provide best evidence-based educational strategies to grow future nurse leaders," she said.

"My goal has always been about making an impact, and now, taking on this position, I have the opportunity to make my network a little bit wider," she continued. "I'm looking forward to making new partnerships and new relationships not only with students, but with faculty and with the community to grow the program in a way that will reach across New York state. I'm extremely grateful for the opportunity."