“Safe, Knowledgeable, Caring.”
Nursing instructor Margie Francisco uses these three words to describe her expectations for healthcare students, “Sometimes, it’s not the skill that patients need, but they need the empathy and the compassion as well.”
Francisco, who will retire after this semester, has taught at IVCC since 2005. In addition to her 19 years at IVCC, she also worked for 46 years at St. Margaret’s Hospital in Spring Valley.
Francisco, who grew up in Putnam County, always wanted to be a nurse even as a child. At the age of 17, she started a three-year college program. She later returned to college to complete her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing. Later as an adult, she then earned her doctorate in education.
While serving as a nurse for 46 years at St. Margaret’s Hospital in Spring Valley before it closed last year, she was able to see her teachings in action. “I loved working with my former students and seeing them develop as nurses,” Francisco said.
A typical week for Francisco consists of class lectures twice a week, clinicals, and hands-on time in the lab. Days at the clinical site are around nine hours long making it one of the most intense parts of her teaching responsibility.
With her limited free time, Francisco enjoys quilting. Memory quilts from meaningful T-shirts are an example of her craft.
“It’s a form of therapy for me,” she says. Francisco is in the process of completing her very own IVCC memory quilt to remember her time spent teaching.
Francisco also enjoys traveling. Europe and Ireland are just a couple of her favorite destinations. With her upcoming retirement, Francisco plans to use extended free time to continue traveling around the world.
Family will always be important to Francisco. She and her husband Pete have three daughters and six grandchildren. All three of her daughters also work in healthcare.
For new students entering the world of nursing, Francisco notes that it is a “wonderful yet challenging,” field of work: “We are in it for the outcome and not the income,” she said.
In addition, Francisco said, “What I’m going to miss most are my coworkers —that I’ve become good friends with — and the students. I love the students; I love my peers.”
Nursing student Olivia Colmone, in her nomination of Francisco for a teaching award, comments on Francisco’s teaching by saying, “She is the light of the nursing programs.”
Feedback such as this earned her a 2024 nomination for the Stephen Charry Memorial Award for Teaching Excellence.
To contact Francisco or send her wishes on her retirement, she can be reached at [email protected] or call 815-224-0574 (office B302).