Brief Biography

Dr. Rachel Albert currently teaches online courses in Healthcare Research and Evidenced-Based Practice, Transcultural Nursing, Ethics and the Law, Integrative Nursing Practice, and Global Health.

Dr. Albert has nearly 30 years of experience in higher education at UMFK. In addition to her faculty position, she has held various administrative positions on campus as Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty, Executive Director of Planning and Assessment, and Director and Chair of the Nursing program. She has been extensively involved with accreditation, strategic planning, general education reform, curriculum planning, distance education, student learning outcomes assessment, institutional research, academic program and institutional review, faculty recruitment and development, tenure and promotion, and student retention, success, and advising.

In 1985, Dr. Albert earned her BSN from UMFK. She then went on to earn her MSN in Emergency Nursing/Education from the University of Texas Health Science Center. She earned her Ph.D. in Nursing Science from Case Western Reserve University in Ohio in 2001.

She is currently certified through the Advanced Online Teaching by Online Learning Consortium and certified through the Society for College and University Planning (SCUP). Dr. Albert is the Chair for Aroostook County’s District Coordinating Council for Public Health. She is on the Fish River Rural Health Board of Directors and is on the liaison committee to Northern Maine Medical Center. She is a corporator for Northern Light Health, a team leader and evaluator for the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), and UMFK’s chairperson and evaluator to our regional accrediting body NECHE.

The State of Maine Senate and Maine House of Representatives honored Dr. Albert with a legislative sentiment presented by State Representative Troy Jackson for excellence in nursing education in October 2003.

In her spare time, she loves connecting and socializing with family and friends, traveling, cooking healthy recipes, listening to music, reading self-help books, and professional journals in her field. She enjoys fitness activities including running, hiking, and biking, and anything that takes her outside. Volunteering as a Team Leader for on-site nursing program accreditation reviews for the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education allows her to apply her skill set while broadening and deepening her experience in nursing higher education. She also enjoys serving as a faculty mentor for the UMFK Partners for International Relief, a student organization that demonstrates caring and compassion by participating in medical relief missions that brings help to communities in need overseas.

Research Interests

  • Current research interests: Scholarship of teaching and learning – collaborative learning and group work in the online environment; evidence-based nursing practice; older adult health, rural telehealth; cultural diversity and health disparity; health literacy
  • Faculty Co-Lead, University of Maine, Aging Initiative, Physical and Behavior Research Group, identified five areas of broad collaborative research including 1) medication use and safety, 2) mild cognitive impairment and patient safety, 3) physical mobility and balance, 4) social support (caregiver/peer to peer), and 5) healthy aging; Aging Initiative Summit (August, 2016), University of Maine, Wells Center, Orono, Maine
  • Trustee Professorship, $12,500, AY 16/17 – Rural Community-Academic Partnership: A Strategy for Improving Public Health and Reducing Health Disparities.
  • Community-Academic Partnerships, Public Health, Collaborative Nursing Curricula and Competencies, Distance Education, Nursing Informatics, Telehealth, Healthcare Literacy, Patient Engagement and Satisfaction, Aging (physical and behavioral health), Global Health and Service Learning, Quality Nursing Education and Student Success, and Health Literacy

Registered Nurse

  • Maine State Board of Nursing
  • New York State Board of Nursing
  • Texas State Board of Nursing
  • Florida State Board of Nursing

Leadership Training

Albert is a recent graduate of the Society of Colleges and University Planning (SCUP) Institute. She is a graduate (April, 2007) of the Higher Education Resources (HERS) Management Institute for Women in Higher Education Administration at Wellesley College in Massachusetts, whereby she advanced her leadership skills and role preparation in the areas of managing organizations, leading change, and planning and fiscal management in higher education. She is also a graduate of the Maine Development Foundation: Leadership Maine Institute, Iota Class (2001-2002), and an American Council of Education (ACE) fellow of the Maine Academic Management Institute for Women Leaders in Higher Education (1998-1990).

Research and Specialties

Scholarship of teaching and learning - collaborative learning and group work in the online environment
Evidence-based nursing practice
Older adult health
Rural telehealth
Cultural diversity and health disparity
Health literacy

Distinctions and Associations

  • Sabbatical, spring semester 2016
  • Society of Colleges and University Planning, 2015, Certified
  • UMFK Faculty Assembly Letter of Gratitude for 8.5 years of service as Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty, 2013
  • University of Maine at Fort Kent, 20-Year Service Award, 2011
  • Aroostook Mental Health Center, recognition for outstanding contributions to the agency and board of directors, 2000-2011
  • Aroostook Mental Health Center, Board of Directors, 10-Years of Dedicated Service Award, to agency and its programs, 2011
  • Distinguished Alumni of the Year Award for noteworthy leadership and service to the profession of nursing, University of Maine at Fort Kent, Division of Nursing, 2010
  • Business and Professional Women, Maine Women of the Year, 2008 for outstanding achievement in her field, 2010
  • Business and Professional Women, Fort Kent Women of the Year, 2008, for outstanding achievement in her field, 2008
  • Aroostook Mental Health Center Award - in recognition of devoted leadership provided as Board President, 2006
  • State of Maine Senate and Maine House of Representatives, legislative sentiment presented by State Representative Troy Jackson for excellence in nursing education, October, 2003

Educational Background

  • Ph.D., Nursing Science
    Case Western Reserve University, Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, Cleveland Ohio 2001
  • M.S.N., Emergency Nursing/Education
    University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, Texas, 1990
  • B.S.N.
    University of Maine at Fort Kent, Fort Kent, Maine, 1985

Selected Publications and Presentations

  • Albert, R. E., Pelletier, S., & Soucy, E. (2018, January). Responding to quality nursing education: E-course portfolios as a novel method of assessment in strategic course review, 2018 Elsevier Elevate Outcomes with HESI Conference, poster and abstract in conference proceedings, Las Vegas, NV.

  • Albert, R. E., Radsma, J., and Soucy, E. (April, 2017). Pursuing improvement in NCLEX first-time pass rates: Development of a comprehensive standards-based approach to planning and evaluation for a collaborative nursing program in the Northeast. Iggy’s 2017 Nursing Conference: NCLEX-RN Boot Camp for Nurse Educators, poster and abstract in conference proceedings, Las Vegas, NV.

  • Albert, R. E. (2015, July). Evidence-based strategies for improving health literacy among older adults. Global Nursing Summer Institute, paper presentation, abstract in conference proceedings, Los Angeles, CA.

  • Albert, R. E. , Radsma, J., Soucy, E. (2014). Right – No I Meant Left: A Call for Nurses to Integrate Clear Communications and Improve Health Literacy among Older Adults. The Nursing Profession: History, Analysis of the Present, and Looking Towards Future Directions Conference, Congres Mondial Acadien, Université de Moncton, campus d’Edmundston, New Brunswick, CA.

  • Albert. R. E. (2014). Rural Telenursing – An Evolving World of Care: Where Patient Care Outcomes Are at the Heart of the Model, Summer Institute for Nursing Informatics, University of Maryland School of Nursing, Baltimore, MA

  • Albert, R. T & Albert, R. E. (2013). Experiences with the Promise and Potential of Service Learning in an Online Information Security Curriculum, peer reviewed article published in the proceedings of the international 2013 World Congress in Computer Science, Computer Engineering & Applied Computing Conference (WORLDCOMP) http://world-comp.org/proc2013/sam.html. Las Vegas, NV

  • Rice, G. Model Designer; Panelists, Albert, R. E., Cruz-Uribe, K., Hebert, J.L., Jordon, S., Mehring, T.S., Radke, W.J. &Venn, M.L. (2012). Student Learning Progression Model, February 9-11, 2012: Academic Affairs Winter Meeting, American Association of State Colleges and Universities Abstract Proceedings, p.12, San Antonio Texas

  • Albert, R. E., Bjerklie, J. R., Wyld & J., Coughlin, M.A. (2012). New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc. (NEASC) 127th Annual Meeting and Conference. Invited Presentation. Using the National Student Clearinghouse for Outcomes Data, Boston, MA.

  • Albert, R. E. & R. T. Albert (October, 2012). Online Experiential Learning: A Case Study of Virtual Computer Laboratories in Support of Cyber Security Education. University College, Third New England Regional Sloan-C Conference on Online Learning, Augusta, ME.

  • Albert, R. E. & Bjerklie, J. R. (October, 2009). Automating the Annual Report. North East Association for Institutional Research. Annual Conference, Bethesda, Maryland.

  • Albert, R. E. (2003). Tuning out the pain. Advance for Nurses, 3(16), 3, 14-16, 29.

  • Albert, R., Albert, R.E., & Radsma, J. (2002). Relationships among bilingualism, critical thinking ability, and critical thinking disposition. Journal of Professional Nursing, 18(4), 220-229.

  • Albert, R. E. (September, 2016). Championing the health of our rural communities: Aroostook county’s top public priorities. Newsletter Publication, St. John Valley Times.

  • Albert, R. E., (June, 2016). Working together to re-establish the public health infrastructure: The Aroostook District Coordinating Council. Newsletter Publication, St. John Valley Times.

  • Albert, R. E. (2016). Aroostook Public Health District, District Public Health Improvement Plan (DPHIP), 2017-2020, coauthor.

  • Albert, R. E. (2014). Encouraging the heart with perseverance and making challenge meaningful. Valley of Hope: Reflections by Breast Cancer Survivors and their Families. Charleston, SC.

  • Albert, R. E. (May, 2012). University of Maine at Fort Kent Student Learning Outcomes Assessment and College Portrait. Invited presentation. University of Maine System Board of Trustees, Bangor, ME.

  • Albert, R. E. (2009). Maine Business and Professional Women (Spring Board Meeting, 2009). The Pink Virus Project. Invited presentation. Ellsworth, ME.

  • Albert, R. E. (2009). Maine Development Foundation Legislators on the Northern Maine Bus Tour (February, 2009). Healthcare Shortage in Rural Maine. Invited presentation. University of Maine at Fort Kent, Fort Kent, ME.

  • Albert, R. E. (2009). Business and Professional Women Maine Magazine (Spring, 2009). Vice President’s Message, p 3.

  • Albert, R. E. (2009). Business and Professional Women Maine Magazine (Fall, 2009). A Measure of Equity – Selected Findings, p 3.

  • Albert, R. E. (2008). Business and Professional Women Maine Magazine (Fall, 2008). 89 Wise Women – Sharing the Journey, p 3.

  • Albert, R. E. (2008). Maine Business and Professional Women. (Spring Board Meeting, 2008). Margaret Chase Smith Breakfast. The Life and Contributions of a Maine Midwife: Martha Ballard. Invited presentation. Ellsworth, Maine.

  • Albert, R. E. (2006). Chapter 18: Communication and the nursing process. In Wilkinson & Van Leuven Eds.), Fundamentals of Nursing. Philadelphia: F.A. Davis Company.