Faculty Focus: Natalie Ford brings nursing experience full circle at Polk State

When Professor Natalie Ford pinned her son, Jaden, as a Polk State College nursing graduate, she used the same pin received when she began her own nursing career.

It was a moment that connected their journeys from student to nurse.

“Pinning him with my own nursing pin was a moment I will always treasure,” she said. “That pin represented the beginning of my nursing career, and being able to share it with him as he began his own felt like a beautiful connection between our journeys.”

Jaden graduated from Polk State’s Nursing Program in 2025. He is now a registered nurse at BayCare Winter Haven Hospital, working on the same cardiac unit where Ford began her nursing career. He is also enrolled in Polk State’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program.

“Now, seeing him work on the same unit where I started, brings everything full circle,” Ford said. “I know how much I learned there, and it is exciting to watch him gain experience, grow in confidence, and find his own way as a nurse.”

The family’s Polk State connection continues. Ford’s daughter, Kadence, is completing nursing prerequisites at the College and plans to apply to the Nursing Program, with the hope of starting in the fall. Both Jaden and Kadence are also graduates of Polk State Lakeland Gateway to College Collegiate High School.

Ford’s own path to nursing began after she had earned an Associate in Arts degree at Polk State as a dual-enrolled high school student. After starting a family and working in liability insurance claims, she returned to the College to pursue nursing. She earned her Associate in Science in Nursing in 2011 and her Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 2013.

Her clinical career included medical-surgical nursing, cardiac care, intensive care, and oncology. She has worked in nursing for 15 years and has spent 10 years teaching full time at Polk State, following a year as a clinical adjunct instructor. She now serves as Professor of Nursing and Nursing II Course Level Manager.

“Professor Ford brings the valuable perspective of a practicing nurse and a Polk State graduate into the classroom. Her experience helps students prepare for the decisions and responsibilities they will face in patient care,” said Polk State President Anastasios Kamoutsas. “The practical experience of our Nursing faculty, paired with their compassion and genuine care for our students, has propelled our program to No. 1 in the State of Florida with licensure exam pass rates reaching 100%.”

Ford draws on her experience to create realistic patient situations for directed practice labs. Students receive a recorded patient report, review an electronic medical record, complete assessments, and decide which actions take priority. They administer medications and provide interventions as they would in a clinical setting.

Ford builds details into the scenarios to challenge students to recognize when something is wrong and explain what they would do next. Her goal is to help them move beyond memorizing information and begin thinking like nurses.

“These experiences give students a safe place to practice skills, ask questions, and learn from mistakes with faculty guidance,” she said. “My goal is to help them move beyond memorizing information and begin thinking like nurses, so they enter patient care with stronger clinical judgment, confidence, and compassion.”

That approach is central to the project supported by Ford’s 2026 Endowed Teaching Chair. The award is helping her expand directed laboratory learning with 3D-printed simulation models, AI-assisted patient scenarios, simulation supplies, and diverse patient audio.

Endowed Teaching Chair awards recognize faculty members whose work advances teaching and student learning. Recipients are selected through a review process that considers their proposals for projects that support students. Each chair provides funding through the Polk State College Foundation for the faculty member to carry out the project, giving them resources to develop new approaches, acquire equipment, or create learning opportunities that might otherwise be out of reach. Ford’s award is supporting the simulation tools and materials she is developing for Polk State’s nursing students.

These new resources will give students more opportunities to practice clinical decision-making in a realistic setting and create reusable materials faculty can use across semesters.

For Professor Ford, supporting future nurses is both her profession and a family legacy taking shape at Polk State. She is proud of the work Jaden put in to become a nurse and the person he has become. Watching him begin his career where hers began is a reminder of how one educational experience can shape the next. Professor Ford looks forward to seeing her daughter Kadence also follow in her footsteps.