Le Moyne Welcomes New Chair of the Department of Nursing
Le Moyne recently welcomed Margaret "Meega" Wells as the new chair of the department of nursing.
"I am honored to be Chair of the Department of Nursing at Le Moyne because of the outstanding programs for both undergraduate and graduate students and the incredible potential for growth," she said. "The Family Nurse Practitioner program is starting this fall and I look forward to being part of this new and exciting endeavor. I am eager to continue a strong partnership with St. Joseph’s Hospital and College of Nursing and to explore other partnership opportunities. Le Moyne College has a reputation of being an exceptional place to work and study and it is thrilling to have the opportunity to be a member of this community."
Wells completed her BS in Nursing at Georgetown University in 1986. She earned a MS in Nursing in 1991 and post-master’s certificate as an adult nurse practitioner in 1997 from Syracuse University. In 2009, she completed a PhD in Rural Nursing from Binghamton University. Professionally, she began her career in Boston at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Later, she returned to Washington, D.C. and worked at the Clinical Center at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD. Upon moving to Syracuse she worked at St. Joseph’s Hospital and College of Nursing for 10 years. Later she was employed at the College of Nursing at SUNY Upstate Medical University for 15 years where she served in various academic positions with the last being Assistant Dean for Outcomes and Evaluation.
She completed her dissertation on resilience in older rural adults. She continued her study of resilience and older adults in an interprofessional study with physical therapists at Upstate. Currently she is working with physical therapists on a study to explore the relevance of a therapeutic neuroscience educational intervention for chronic pain in older adults. Another research interest includes studying RN’s who have not returned to school to receive a BS degree.
In addition to her role as an educator and administrator, she volunteers as a nurse practitioner at the Poverello Healthcare Clinic in Syracuse. She has received several teaching awards and was inducted in to the inaugural cohort of the Academy of Upstate Educators.