Associate Professor Heather Duncan enjoys teaching at North Park because of the small class size and the foundation of Christian faith. “The School of Nursing at North Park believes in walking beside you toward your career as a nurse, which we truly feel is a life of significance and service,” she says.

As a self-described urbanist she also appreciates the ability to engage with the city. One way she does this is through her community health nursing class, which provides engagement with Chicago both in the clinical setting as well as research in the form of a community assessment.

Her own clinical experience includes working at Rush Medical Center. Since that time, Duncan has continued to practice in poverty medicine and is currently a family nurse practitioner with Circle Family Health Network’s mobile health team, providing primary healthcare in homeless shelters.

While the city factors into her practice, teaching, and research in a prominent way, she also provides opportunities for her nursing students to gain global health experience. Duncan is the faculty advisor for the yearly Global Partnerships Zambia trip.