Dr. Brooke McAtee, the director of nursing at Northwest Missouri State University, recently was elected to the Board of Commissioners for the National League for Nursing Commission for Nursing Education Accreditation (NLN CNEA). 

The NLN CNEA promotes excellence and integrity in nursing education through its accreditation process, emphasizes a culture of continuous quality improvement and influences the preparation of a caring and skilled nursing workforce. The Commission for Nursing Education Accreditation, the autonomous accreditation division of the National League for Nursing, accredits programs across the academic spectrum, including master’s degrees, post-graduate certificate programs and practice doctorates.

McAtee began her Board term Jan. 1 and will serve in the role through 2025. She is the first board member from Missouri to serve with the accreditation body, a vital pathway for rural and midwestern nursing programs.

“Dr. McAtee does many things exceptionally well,” Dr. Terry Long, the director of Northwest’s School of Health Science and Wellness, said. “One of the things that she has really excelled in is developing, managing and overseeing our programs. Her peers recognize her excellence at the highest level and have entrusted her with the huge responsibility of ensuring the quality of nurse educator programs throughout the United States.”

McAtee joined the Northwest faculty in 2018 as an instructor for the University’s RN to BSN. Previously, she served as a tenured faculty member in licensed practical nursing and associate degree nursing programs at North Central Missouri College, where she also was dean of nursing and health sciences. She has experience practicing in obstetrics and has taught numerous courses, including as an adjunct instructor at Northwest. She also has served on boards affiliated with Missouri Area Health Education Centers and Mosaic Life Care.

McAtee completed her doctoral degree in 2020 with a specialization in nursing education at Capella University. She has a master’s degree in nursing from the University of Phoenix and a bachelor’s in nursing from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

About Northwest’s nursing program

Northwest relaunched its RN-BSN program in 2018 as an online program that offers seven-week sessions, enabling students to complete the program in less than a year. The student-centered program is conducive to the working nurse’s schedule.

A bachelor’s degree in the nursing field provides opportunities for nurses to advance in their professional roles at state, national and international levels. Northwest’s RN-BSN program emphasizes the importance of leadership skills in all service areas. Students enrolled in the RN-BSN program also have the opportunity to earn a nurse manager certificate offered through the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing.

Northwest also offers an online Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) as a 30-hour graduate program for registered nurses who have obtained a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. The program offers 15 hours of core classes with the remaining 15 hours completed in one of two tracks – nurse executive and administration, or nurse educator.

Both programs are accredited by the NLN CNEA, and EduMed.org has consistently ranked the RN-BSN program among its top 50 programs.

To learn more about Northwest’s online nursing program visit https://online.nwmissouri.edu/programs/nursing-programs.aspx, call 660.562.1973 or email nwnursing@nwmissouri.edu.