Dr. Vicky Tilton tried something new this past semester. As the chief nursing officer and vice president of patient care services at Valley Children’s Healthcare, her schedule was already demanding – but she couldn’t pass up the opportunity to teach a leadership course in the Doctor of Nursing Practice program at Fresno State.
“I have always believed that developing the next generation of nurse leaders is one of our most important responsibilities,” Tilton said. “Fresno State has a strong connection to our region and to Valley Children’s through our partnership, and the opportunity to contribute to the growth of advanced practice nurses and leaders felt both purposeful and aligned with my values. One of our core values as an organization is modeling the way, and I believe it is vital to demonstrate this.”
Her online course, NURS 583 “Leadership and Professional Responsibility in Complex Healthcare Systems,” was the ideal introduction for Tilton to transition into teaching. With years of leadership experience and firsthand knowledge in navigating complex healthcare systems, Tilton brought real-world insight and expertise into the classroom.
In her day-to-day role at Valley Children’s, Tilton oversees more than 1,300 nurses and provides executive oversight of nursing practice across the entire network, including specialty nursing, case management and clinical education along with responsibility for patient support services like social work, interpreter services and emergency management.
Valley Children’s is one of the leading pediatric specialty healthcare systems in the state and is noted for its Magnet designation, which is awarded to healthcare organizations that demonstrate excellence in nursing practice and patient care.
For Tilton, days were spent leading healthcare operations, while nights were spent grading assignments, creating curriculum and mentoring students.
“The value I gained from this experience is well worth the time and effort,” Tilton said. “The students bring diverse perspectives, strong clinical foundations and a genuine desire to lead and improve care. I approach teaching much like I do leadership – creating space for dialogue, challenging thinking and connecting theory to real-world application. It has also been a reciprocal experience; I learn just as much from the students as they do from me.”
Tilton’s path to teaching was a natural progression and an opportunity that came after a conversation with School of Nursing chair Dr. Kathi Rindahl and Dr. Nisha Nair, Doctor of Nursing Practice program director. Both were seeking instructors and clinical nurse leaders to teach.
Tilton was already working closely with the School of Nursing on the ASN to BSN Pathway Program, which makes it possible for Valley Children’s nurses to work toward their bachelor’s degrees in nursing, while still working full-time as nurses.
Tilton’s first course kicked off in spring 2026.
“At first, it was a bit of a learning curve for me because I’ve never taught,” Tilton said. “One of our core values here at Valley Children’s is modeling the way, and so I’ve been asking my team to go back and get their associate’s degree and their bachelor’s degree. While asking my team to advance, I thought, what better way to demonstrate this than by teaching at Fresno State?”
Using her own leadership experience as inspiration, Tilton created curriculum and assignments for the 16-week course.
The five-semester Doctor of Nursing Practice program prepares students – all of whom already have nursing experience – to serve in leadership roles and to improve healthcare systems. Graduates of the program often become nursing faculty at colleges and universities or take on advanced leadership roles in healthcare.
One of those students is Karen Dhillon, of Fresno, who is in her fourth semester of the doctoral program. Like Tilton, she balances many roles as a post-graduate student, a NICU nurse at Valley Children’s Healthcare and an adjunct faculty member in the School of Nursing at Fresno State, where she has taught bachelor’s-level nursing courses for the past four years.
Although Tilton and Dhillon share a Valley Children’s and Fresno State connection, they had never interacted one-on-one prior to Dhillon being in Tilton’s course this past semester. Dhillon said being taught by the chief nursing officer was a uniquely valuable experience.
“I find it really inspiring that Dr. Tilton has taken this next step into teaching,” Dhillon said. “As her student, I found her insights to be pretty eye-opening. While our classes were mostly online, we did have opportunities to meet on Zoom or in person. As an instructor, what I have noticed is that not only is her feedback constructive, but she takes the time to validate your responses and analyze it with feedback that lets you know you’re on the right path.”
For Tilton, having Dhillon in her course was equally rewarding.
“Karen is a reliable and hard-working member of our Valley Children’s team and I am very proud of her for working towards her doctorate and wanting to expand on her leadership skills,” Tilton said. “And I hope she sees a different side of me as the chief nursing officer.”
After graduating in May 2027, Dhillon aspires to become a professor, while still working at the “workplace of her dreams” – Valley Children’s.
As for Tilton, she plans to return to the classroom next semester – continuing her quest to influence care and experience, while championing the next generation of nursing leaders.
Written by Melissa Tav (‘07); Photos by Cary Edmondson (’03)
