Faculty Spotlight: Pam Cromer, DNP

Excellence in Service-Learning Faculty Award

Pam Cromer, DNP, once received some very valuable advice from her grandmother – “Education is something no one can take away from you.” With the guidance and support of her foster family, Cromer was able to attend college, becoming the first college graduate of her biological family. The daughter of her foster family introduced her to the world of nursing and the possibility of working in a hospital to support herself after graduating from a two-year program, and Cromer never looked back.

Cromer, who currently serves as the director of Costa Layman International Outreach and Community Engagement and the Healthy Grandparents Program and is a professor in the Augusta University College of Nursing, has held several positions along her career path, including registered nurse, nurse manager/director, faculty member at Lander University and the University of South Carolina, and advanced practice provider. Along the way she worked full time and continued her education journey, ultimately obtaining a doctoral of nursing practice degree from the Medical College of Georgia in 2009.

Cromer’s journey with MCG and Augusta University has been what she calls “totally exhilarating,” opening unparalleled opportunity for her professional success and rise to the rank of professor.

She credits much of her success to the generous mentoring of special colleagues, including MCG alumna Debbie Layman; the late College of Nursing Dean Emerita Lucy Marion, PhD; Georgia Prevention Institute Director Yanbin Dong, MD PhD; the Dental College of Georgia Dean Nancy Young, DMD; College of Allied Health Sciences Dean Lester Pretlow, PhD; and College of Nursing professor and researcher Terri Marin, PhD, as well as AU administrators, Medical College of Georgia Dean David Hess, MD; Bill Strong, MD, retired director of AU’s Center for Bioethics and Health Policy; Gretchen Caughman, PhD, retired executive vice president of Academic Affairs/provost; and AU President Russell Keen, EdD, along with the many networks she has developed through her faculty role as director of Costa Layman International Outreach and Community Engagement over the past 19 years.

“It is with pride and honor that I consistently represent the College of Nursing and the university in its efforts for sustained rural outreach partnerships that engage community leaders in the sharing of resources and preparations for our future health care workforce to provide health care access and exposure to the realities of health care. To this end, I remain dedicated and committed.”

Pam Cromer, DNP

This strong support of a shared vision for “community” has promoted exponential growth of service-learning agreements that Cromer manages for the College of Nursing, involving interdisciplinary teams of faculty and students from all corners of the university in providing healthcare access and referral services to vulnerable populations. With a focus on rural health provider competencies, these teams have demonstrated that costs, quality and access issues to health care delivery can be addressed by strong community partnerships and alliances, such as the long-term relationship with FQHC, Carolina Health Centers, Inc., who provides shared resources for student trainings and is a primary care service provider for Latino communities.

These community partnerships and opportunities for service-learning for her nursing students was the catalyst to Cromer receiving the inaugural Excellence in Service-Learning Faculty Award, which lauds a faculty member who has made outstanding contributions in the areas of service learning and community-engaged work while working closely with a community partner to integrate community-engaged principles, practices and pedagogies into their courses and clinicals.

“Receiving the 2024 Augusta University Excellence in Service-Learning Faculty Award is a humbling experience to me personally; knowing that Augusta University and CON recognized my work as so meaningful is especially gratifying,” Cromer said.

“As a senior faculty member of the College of Nursing, I was appointed to the Augusta University Community Engagement Leadership Council in September 2023 and its advisory subcommittee task force. With a vested interest in community partnerships as a component of my education, research and service responsibilities since 2006, I have successfully and strategically expanded this focus to local, regional, national and international stakeholder collaboratives aligned to the goals of community-engaged activities supportive of Augusta University’s mission and values. With a pedagogical philosophy supporting team-based, interprofessional learning, focused on the ‘Adult as a Learner,’ my efforts are centered on utilizing experts within disciplines to activate, motivate and cultivate enriched opportunities for learners and improved access and health care services for vulnerable populations within our communities.”

Cromer is far from done when it comes to improved access to health care services for the underserved in the community.

“It is with pride and honor that I consistently represent the College of Nursing and the university in its efforts for sustained rural outreach partnerships that engage community leaders in the sharing of resources and preparations for our future health care workforce to provide health care access and exposure to the realities of health care. To this end, I remain dedicated and committed.”