When she was a senior in high school, Dr. Sheryl Winn (Nursing ’82) sought the Lord’s leading for her future. She prayed specifically for clarity—and the next day’s mail brought a flyer from Pensacola Christian College, advertising the debut of its nursing program. “I felt [that I had] the confirmation I needed [for] my life path—and it definitely was, as I have never looked back,” she said.
Over the years, Dr. Winn has held many positions including registered nurse (RN) in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), RN in Cardiac Stepdown unit, and nurse practitioner (NP) in student health at Macon State College, now known as Middle Georgia State University. But today, she is a professor at Georgia College and State University’s (GCSU) School of Nursing, a coordinator of the DNP program at GCSU, and an adult NP at a clinic serving the homeless. “Throughout all my positions in nursing, I have loved every one of them,” she shared.
To Be Taught and to Teach
Before choosing a college, Dr. Sheryl Winn quickly realized that, by attending PCC, she would be part of the second-ever graduating nursing class. And when she did graduate, “I felt fully prepared to begin my career as an RN.” Since then, Dr. Winn has been able to practice her medical ministry in several rewarding ways: as an RN in cardiology and the ICU, a nurse manager of a heart transplant and open-heart surgery unit—and more.
After earning her master’s in nursing and NP certification in 1996, Dr. Winn began training others as nursing faculty at Emory School of Nursing in Atlanta, Georgia. “It began my career as the ‘best of both worlds’ for me—affording me the ability to teach and to continue clinical practice as an advanced practice registered nurse as I worked as an NP in occupational health at Emory as well,” she explained. Once she earned her Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) from Georgia Southern University in 2014, she was asked to teach the DNP program at GCSU, “Which I have done since that time as well as teach in the MSN/NP program.”
“We had the most knowledgeable, professional, caring, and compassionate nursing instructors.”
Dr. Winn still values the training that prepared her for the medical field, attributing it to her qualified teachers and valuable clinical experiences. “We had the most knowledgeable, professional, caring, and compassionate nursing instructors,” she recalled. Each student who did their senior preceptorship was paired with an RN, spending 32 hours a week with them in the final semester. “This was very beneficial in preparing us to be ready to assume a full patient load upon graduation. Having been a nurse educator/faculty member for 27 years now, I feel [that] my instructors at PCC were a great beginning role model for my future role as nursing faculty.”
When she was a student, Dr. Winn remembers local healthcare facilities attended a PCC luncheon to recruit nursing students. “I certainly know that PCC nursing grads were in demand the year I graduated,” she said. “Several of my classmates stayed in the Pensacola area.”
Since graduating, Dr. Winn has remained connected to PCC. “I read every Update with excitement to see what has changed and what is going on with the College and my classmates. I have visited [campus] a few times over the years and, boy, has it changed a lot since I graduated. There are so many more activities available for the students now.”
Dr. Winn has especially loved teaching and mentoring new students at GCSU to genuinely care for patients and their needs. For the past ten years, Dr. Winn has been assisting a clinic serving the homeless, started for students to complete clinical hours. She teaches her students how to “provide excellent care to patients with very limited resources,” and every year, the clinic hosts a “Sleep Out” to raise support for the center. “We sleep out in tents in solidarity with the homeless,” Dr. Winn explained. The event has raised funds to build a respite for the homeless who leave the hospital after treatment, while also adding a new clinic and housing for the homeless.
Providing Care Abroad
Not limited to the States, Dr. Sheryl Winn’s influence has even reached overseas. “One of the most rewarding things I had the opportunity to use my nursing skills in was participating in three medical missions trips to the country of Moldova,” shared Dr. Winn. “I truly loved taking care of these beautiful people who live in the poorest country in Eastern Europe.” During these trips with Rehoboth Baptist Association, medical clinics were hosted in various small villages, most taking place in church building rooms set aside for the team.
Dr. Winn worked with a doctor and pharmacist from Moldova to see patients and provide needed medications. Being connected to a native doctor and pharmacist ensured that those seen would have the necessary follow-up care after the American team left. “The Moldovan people waiting to see the medical providers would walk a great distance to see us,” said Dr. Winn. “While they were waiting in line, the rest of the missions team would engage them and tell them about Jesus’ saving grace through interpreters.”
“Seeing God’s leading through this experience was truly amazing.”
As a Christian and a nurse practitioner, Dr. Winn views her missions trips to Moldova as the most satisfying, wonderful experiences of her entire life. “God has certainly been with me throughout my career, and I feel that He led me into nursing so that I could use my talents as a servant to Him and to others,” Dr. Winn shared. “I loved being able to care for these people who desperately needed medical care and had no way to pay for it.”
Her time in Moldova gave Dr. Winn opportunities to serve others, but it also led her to add to her growing family. She felt led to adopt two children from orphanages her team cared for during their stay. “Seeing God’s leading through this experience was truly amazing,” she said. “I didn’t go on the missions trip with the intention of adoption; however, as often happens, God had other ideas!” She and her husband had been on a waiting list in the U.S., recently adopting a newborn from their hometown. “We wound up getting three kids within five months! I got unmistakable assurance and that this was what we were supposed to do when God gave me the verse Jeremiah 29:11.”
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” —Jeremiah 29:11
Over the years, Dr. Sheryl Winn has had the opportunity to reunite with several nursing classmates to reminisce about their time at PCC. “We all commented that we felt we got an excellent education,” she said, thankful for God’s guidance through the years. “I feel that He led me into nursing so that I could use my talents as a servant to Him and to others.”
Read more about how God is directing and working through PCC faculty and alumni.