Biography
Susan Imes, RN, MSN, is an Associate Professor at the Marshall University School of Nursing. Since 2006, Professor Imes has been responsible for teaching the courses NUR 318: “Family and Chronic Illness,” NUR 400: “Transcultural Healthcare,” and the clinical course NUR 422 Lab. Prior to her position at Marshall, she spent nine years at King’s Daughters Medical Center working as a staff nurse and eventually as Director of Medical Nursing Services. She also spent time as an RN at the VA Medical Center working in intensive care nursing, case management and staff development.Professor Imes defended her dissertation: “Discovering the cultural care meanings and care expressions of men with a spinal cord injury from the Appalachian region of WV: An Ethnonursing Study” in December 2009. In 2013, she finished her data collection and earn a Ph.D. in Nursing from Duquesne University. She received her Post Masters Certificate in Transcultural Nursing from Duquesne University in 2004, her MSN from Bellarmine University in 1996, and her BSN in 1986 and ASN in 1983, both from Marshall University. Her research interests include the effects of caregiver stress, Alzheimer’s disease and the benefits of Hospice care. Professor Imes is a member of the West Virginia League for Nursing, the National League for Nursing, the Transcultural Nurses Society, the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing and the American Academy of Spinal Cord Injury Professionals.
Professor Imes is a strong believer in understanding a patient’s culture in order to understand how best to care for them. She loves watching her students put the puzzle pieces together in a clinical setting and being witness to their own “Ah-HA!” moments of understanding.