Q&A

Why did you come to Ouachita?

I have been a nurse since 2011 and a nurse practitioner since 2016. And while I have enjoyed my time in both the hospital setting and clinic I felt like God was wanting me to continue to help others but in a different way. I have felt the calling to teach. Ouachita gives me the opportunity to share what I have learned but also teach with a faith-based perspective. It is truly a place where faith and learning come together.

Why did you decide to become a professor?

I have always enjoyed helping others learn. My favorite part of being a provider is educating my patients on the diagnosis, medication prescribed, or why I am asking them to make lifestyle modifications. I have learned from personal experience that if you explain the why then the odds of them being compliant are much greater. To see the light bulb come on is an awesome feeling. Because of these experiences I decided to take a step away from practice and educate full-time. I feel like one of my spiritual gifts is teaching and being able to utilize it to the fullest is a great opportunity.

I love challenging and inspiring others. Being a professor allows me to create a positive atmosphere that promotes learning. To see others grow in faith and knowledge is very rewarding. I want to make an impact in students' lives and for them to look back on their college experience and say that I helped them get where they are today.

Why is your subject an important one in our world?

You can't have healthcare without nursing. Nursing is a vital part in healing the sick whether it is physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually. Nurses are used in the home, schools, hospitals, clinics, pharmaceutical system, legal system, etc. It is everywhere in our world. Nursing is an avenue to love others as Jesus loved you.

What do you want future students to know about your degree program?

As mentioned above, nursing is an avenue to love others as Jesus loved you. Future students must be committed to this command otherwise they will miss the point, and they won't truly understand what nursing is. The nursing program here at Ouachita will be challenging and difficult. Students will need to be committed. It will push them physically and mentally. However, the OBU nursing faculty wants students to succeed above and beyond. The nursing program provides students with visualization, auditory, and hands on activities to utilize every learning type so they will grasp the concept being taught. We are here to help them, motivate them and pray for them along the way. Upon graduating I have no doubt that the students will be prepared for practice.

What do you like to do in your free time?

I love to read books of all kinds! I like spending time with my family at the lake. I love watching my two children play all the sports and I am very competitive. I also enjoy exercising and staying active.

What has been a meaningful Bible verse or passage for you?

2 Corinthians 12:9 – "But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me." This is my son's baby dedication verse.

Psalm 37:4 – "Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart." This is my daughter's baby dedication verse.

Proverb 22:6 – "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it." 3 John 1:4 "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth." These two verses are my parenting motivation.

Philippians 3:10-14 – "I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." This is my life verse. The word of God is powerful... so use it!

Publications

Hart, M.E., L.H. Tsang, J. Deck, S.T. Dailey, R.C. Jones, H. Liu, H. Hu, M.J. Hart, and M.S. Smeltzer. 2013. Hyaluronidase expression and biofilm involvement in Staphylococcus aureus UAMS-1 and its sarA, agr, and sarA agr regulatory mutants. Microbiology 159:782-791

Hart, M.E., M.J. Hart, and A.J. Roop. 2009. Genotypic and phenotypic assessment of the hyaluronidases among the staphylococci and their diagnostic potential. Inter. J. Microbiol. 2009: 614371.

Presentations

Hart, M.E., L.H. Tsang, J. Deck, S.T. Dailey, R.C. Jones, M.J. Hart, and M.S. Smeltzer. 2010. Hyaluronidase in Staphylococcus aureus UAMS-1 is not a Contributor to the Biofilm-Negative Phenotype of a sarA Mutant Strain Although Hyaluronidase Expression is Elevated. Presented June 2-6, 2010, at the 54th Annual Meeting of the Wind River Conference on Prokaryotic Biology, Estes Park, Colorado.

Hart, M.J., A.J. Roop, and M.E. Hart. 2008. Phenotypic and genotypic assessment of hyaluronidase among the staphylococci. Presented November 9-11, 2008, at the Joint Fall Meeting of the Texas and South Central Branches of the Amer. Soc. Microbiol., University of Texas at Austin.

Hart, M.J., C.E. Cerniglia, and M.E. Hart. 2008. The Use of a Hyaluronidase Assay to Differentiate Staphylococcus aureus from Coagulase-Negative Staphylococci (CNS). Presented July 31, 2008, at the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education/National Center for Toxicological Research Seminar Series, National Center for Toxicological Research, Jefferson, Arkansas.