WHEN CHRISTINE HOYLE, associate professor for nursing and associate dean of graduate programs, began her role at SPU, she brought with her 34 years of experience and expertise in nursing practice. As a family nurse practitioner, she provided primary care to a diverse, multiethnic, low-income, and homeless population with complex medical, mental health, and social needs. Hoyle also served as a nurse educator with 23 years of teaching experience at the University of Washington, where she became an emerita professor of nursing in 2014.
Hoyle joined SPU’s School of Health Sciences faculty in January 2015 and became integral in the development and implementation of SPU’s Doctor of Nursing Practice program.
Hoyle cultivated faculty members who were clinical experts and devoted to teaching. She also made it her goal to facilitate a rewarding graduate educational journey for her students as they gained knowledge and skills to become the next generation of nursing leaders. Soon after the DNP program welcomed its first students in 2017, the program was considered among the best in the region.
Since completing her tenure with SPU in June 2021, Hoyle practices what she taught by being on call to help underserved patients at the International Communities Health Services clinic in Shoreline, Washington. She also returned to SPU as an adjunct professor for the 2021-22 academic year.
Hoyle has an unsurprising goal for her students: “I hope that they leave SPU having developed their curiosity as innovative systems thinkers, evaluating and improving health care outcomes for their patient populations and communities they will serve.”
