When Jill Mayo was four, she went to see the school nurse and decided she wanted to be one too. She intended to pursue pediatrics up from that point up until undergraduate school, when she completed a special study in critical care and loved it. Ms. Mayo then applied and was accepted to a critical care nurse internship at Parkland Hospital in Dallas, which officially changed her focus. During a rotation, she was asked to do a post-conference presentation and they thought she did well enough to do it again, sparking her interest in teaching. She realized she had finally found her niche, and, today, she continues to advance the field as an assistant professor of nursing at the Mississippi College School of Nursing.
Previously, Ms. Mayo garnered experience as an assistant professor of nursing at the Capstone College of Nursing at the University of Alabama, an assistant professor of nursing at Troy State University, a consultant in the College of Continuing Studies at the University of Alabama, and a consultant and content expert in the testing development assessment unit at Excelsior College. She also held positions as a teacher of a basic EKG course for MS Baptist Medical Center and a faculty member for Macy’s Bio-Prep Summer School. The highlight of Ms. Mayo’s career was being able to contribute to the education of so many nurses. She finds it extremely rewarding when past students come back to her and tell her that something she taught got them out of a challenging situation.
Besides academia, Ms. Mayo was a staff nurse in the cardiac surgical intensive care unit at DCH Regional Medical Center, the critical care unit at the University Hospital in Augusta, Ga., the critical care unit at Talmadge Memorial Hospital, and at Parkland Memorial Hospital. She prepared for her endeavors by earning a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Texas Woman’s University in 1976 and a Master of Science in Nursing from the Medical College of Georgia in 1979. She completed her postgraduate coursework at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing, became registered as a nurse in the states of Texas and Georgia, and became certified as a medical-surgical nurse.
Looking for ways to share her extensive background beyond a school setting, Ms. Mayo authored “A Report to Aden Health Systems Regarding the Review of Intensive Care Units” in 2001, and edited and contributed articles in professional journals. Further, she served as the chapter president of Sigma Theta Tau from 1998 to 2000, a fellow of the Virginia Henderson Sigma Theta Tau International in 1997, a continuing education independent study review panelist fir the American Nurses Association from 1995 to 1996, and in the Citizen Ambassador Program as part of the Cardiovascular Nursing Delegation to the People’s Republic of China and Hong Kong in 1995. She also maintains affiliation with the American Association of Critical Care Nurses and the Mississippi Nurses Association.
Outside of work, Ms. Mayo’s hobbies include reading, needlework, crafts, and singing.
