Faculty Profile

Deanna Reising

“I’m a proud graduate of the IUSON Class of 1986 and spent my first 3 years on the Bloomington campus. Our students today are so fortunate to be able to complete their program here in Bloomington where they can learn from IUSON BL’s dedicated and expert nurse educators.”

                                                                                                -- Deanna Reising

Deanna L. Reising

Professor, PhD, RN, ACNS-BC, FAAN, FNAP, ANEF

Our IUSON faculty features many extraordinarily talented men and women. But, if there is a rock star in our midst, it is Dr. Deanna Reising.

Born and raised in Indiana, Deanna earned her bachelor’s degree from IU. “I’m a proud graduate of the IUSON Class of 1986,” she says, “and spent my first 3 years on the Bloomington campus. Our students today are so fortunate to be able to complete all of their program here in Bloomington where they can learn from IUSON BL’s dedicated – and expert – nurse educators.”

Deanna began her nursing career in Northwest Indiana as a medical-surgical nurse and critical care nurse at St. Mary Medical Center in Hobart, IN, earning her master’s degree from Purdue-Calumet (now Purdue-Northwest) as an Adult Health Clinical Nurse Specialist. It was Deanna’s own experiences as a student nurse that led her to pursue a career in higher education as nurse faculty.

“In nursing school, I saw the difference my professors made in the development of new nurses,” she says, “and I thought ‘that’s for me!’ After that, I developed my career so that I could attain that goal myself.” 

Deanna began teaching at IU Northwest and became an Assistant Director of Nursing for St. Mary Medical Center in Gary, IN. After 5 years in the region, she moved to Bloomington – beginning her career in academia at IUSON BL, while working on her PhD. Deanna became only the 2nd student to graduate from IUSON’s PhD program, where her dissertation research was on the socialization of new critical care nurses.

“Looking back on my days as a student, I remember I had to wear a cap in my OB experience at St. Vincent’s. But nursing and nursing education have moved far beyond worrying about what our uniforms should be. I am glad that nursing has now taken control of so many aspects of the nursing environment and patient care.”

Since entering the world of academia, Deanna has become a widely-published and widely-recognized expert in the fields of service-learning (an educational approach that combines learning objectives with community service) and inter-professional education, work that has earned her multiple national and international awards. She is also a three-time fellow with the American Academy of Nursing, National Academies of Practice, and National League of Nursing Academy of Nursing Education. 

Here again, Deanna’s experiences as a student helped lead her to a career path that has earned her such renown as a nurse educator. “I was fortunate in my nursing program,” she says, “in that we had an offering to travel to England for the summer to complete required and elective nursing courses. This was a transitional time for me in my career, as we were mentored in community care by our instructor, Dr. Joyce Krothe. Community care was not the focus of my immediate postgraduate career, but has become one of my top priorities over the past decade, as we built an innovative program of interprofessional education and collaborative practice.”

In addition to her contributions on the national stage, Deanna is also actively engaged with the Bloomington community. For example, Deanna’s position as a Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) at IU Health Bloomington Hospital – and her appointment as an American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) Magnet® Appraiser – has led to her current role as the IU Health system Magnet® Coordinator. Magnet® is an evidence-based blueprint that recognizes excellence in nursing. Deanna’s role as the Magnet® Program Co-Director at IU Health Bloomington Hospital has resulted in a 3rd Magnet® designation for the facility in early 2020.

As a student, practicing RN and, now, as a full professor of nursing, Deanna has experienced firsthand the dramatic changes nursing has undergone during her time in the profession and the skills that new student nurses are taught.

“Looking back on my days as a student, I remember I had to wear a cap in my OB experience at St. Vincent’s,” she says. “But nursing and nursing education have moved far beyond worrying about what our uniforms should be. I am glad that nursing has now taken control of so many aspects of the nursing environment and patient care.”
Deanna was on hand when IU Health Bloomington Hospital received its third Magnet® designation.
Deanna and her family in Colorado