9/25/2009 10:00:00 AM 2009 Most Influential Women Honoree: Carole Compton Eldridge St. John’s College of Nursing and Health Sciences
Q&A with Carole
Tell us about your family.
I have been married since 1973 to Daryl Eldridge, who is the founder and president of Rockbridge Seminary. We have two grown children who live in Texas. Melinda, our daughter, is a CPA, married to Matt, who does marketing for a software company. Mark, our son, is a computer risk analyst and forensics specialist for McAfee in Dallas, married to Leigha, who will soon be a nurse practitioner. Mark and Leigha have a daughter, Delaney, born Feb. 27. Our four-year-old shih-tzu, Latte, is a member of the family, too.
As a young girl, what did you plan to be when you grew up?
An astronaut, a missionary to India, a scientist or a teacher. I used to get sick on airplanes so I had to eliminate astronaut from my goals.
What are some words to live by?
"I have an almost complete disregard of precedent and a faith in the possibility of something better. It irritates me to be told how things always have been done .... I defy the tyranny of precedent. I cannot afford the luxury of a closed mind. I go for anything new that might improve the past." -Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross, as quoted in "A Chosen Faith: An Introduction to Unitarian Universalism."
What challenge did Carole Eldridge present to her schoolteachers when she moved to Missouri at age 7?
They thought her New England accent called for speech therapy.
"My second-grade teachers were so dismayed by my New England accent ... that they insisted on enrolling me in speech therapy classes so I could learn to speak properly, meaning like people in the Ozarks," she says. "My parents were dismayed to have me lose an accent they considered cultured and charming."
When people think of Carole Compton Eldridge and leadership, she hopes the word "servant" comes to mind.
"I believe that leadership means serving the people you lead, providing the resources, support and encouragement others need to do their jobs so they can, in turn, serve others," says Eldridge, dean, associate professor and campus director for St. John's College of Nursing and Health Sciences at Southwest Baptist University-Springfield.
"I spend my days helping others succeed in doing their work and reaching their goals."
Eldridge began her career after receiving a diploma of nursing from Burge School of Nursing, now called Cox College, and a bachelor of science in nursing from Evangel University.
She went on to earn a Master of Science in nursing administration and leadership from University of Texas at Arlington School of Nursing and a Doctor of Nursing Practice in Leadership and Healthcare Business from Rush University College of Nursing in Chicago.
"I have facilitated the education of hundreds of registered nurses who provide quality care to their patients," she says. "I help aspiring nurses reach their goal of a career that will improve their lives and their families' lives."
Eldridge has written several healthcare books and is mentor in her field.
"Mentoring is part of my everyday life," she says. "I consider it my duty and my pleasure to reach other people and help them grow. I teach staff, faculty and students - whoever is on the journey with me - in any avenue that presents itself."
Helping people understand technology better is one of Eldridge's specialties.
"My biggest natural gift seems to be in understanding new technologies, so I find I am frequently helping others learn how to use new technological tools that do not come naturally to them," Eldridge says. "I hear frequently from women of all ages who have gone to better jobs, better education or a better life in general because of a technical skill they learned while working with me or as one of my students."
Eldridge joined St. John's College of Nursing and Health Sciences last year. She has been a consultant since 2002 and continues to consult for Massachusetts-based HCPro Inc. on healthcare books and for Barkley Law Firm in Tulsa, Okla., on medical cases. She received the Great 100 Nurses Award from the Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Association in 1995 and the Nurse Educator Teaching Innovation Award from the Nursing Education Consortium of Southwest Missouri in 2006.
"I network with health care leaders in Springfield, throughout Missouri, in other states and in other countries, sharing and learning about ways to organize and lead health care that will improve our systems and strengthen our workers," she says. "I bring ideas back from other places and other institutions ... and I speak about these ideas at every opportunity. By participating in various professional organizations, I facilitate the exchange of ideas and the promotion of progress for the city's health care."
