First studying nursing at the University of the West Indies, Yvonne Parchment, EdD, achieved a certificate of education at St. Joseph’s Teachers’ College in 1974 and began her career as an elementary school teacher with the Alpha Infant Schools in Kingston, Jamaica. Relocating to Florida in 1979, she joined the South Miami Hospital as a nurse and furthered her education by earning an Associate of Arts and an Associate of Science from Miami Dade College in 1982. Dr. Parchment subsequently matriculated at the University of Miami, where she completed a Bachelor of Science in nursing and a Master of Science in nursing in 1984 and 1989, respectively.
As a registered nurse, Dr. Parchment served as a clinical nurse specialist at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami from 1989 to 1995, when she joined Florida International University as a clinical associate professor. In this role, she worked training nursing professionals, ranging from young and aspiring students to older professionals seeking continuing education, until she retired from teaching in 2022. While at Florida International University, she rounded out her professional degrees by obtaining a Doctor of Education in 2000. Throughout her career, Dr. Parchment has contributed numerous articles to professional journals, including an article on prostate cancer for a respected nursing journal.
Dr. Parchment additionally served with the U.S. Army Nurse Corps, rising to the rank of major in the U.S. Army Reserves between 1989 and 2003. This period saw her teaching military personnel at the 324th Combat Support Hospital in Miami, and she sat on the board of the local community health center in 1996 as well. While she is retired, Dr. Parchment remains active in the local medical community and has volunteered with the South Miami Hospital since 2022. She also maintains professional membership with the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses; the Florida Nurses Association, where she previously sat on the board of directors for district five; and the Jamaica Nurses Association of Florida, for which she spent time as vice president and a member of the education and cultural diversity committees.
Proud of her more than two decades in the field of nursing, Dr. Parchment considers her time as a clinical educator to be her greatest professional achievement. She notes that sharing her skills and seeing her students become successful as empathetic and caring nurses is incredibly rewarding. Her excellence has been recognized throughout her career, including being named Educator of the Year by Zeta Phi Beta in 2004 and 2012. As she looks toward the future, Dr. Parchment intends to continue volunteering with South Miami Hospital as well as branch out into volunteer work with a local nursing home and preschool.