More than a nurse

Dr. Vicki Ball is not just the Dean of College of Nursing at Charleston Southern University; she is also retired from the U.S. Air Force, where she served as a Nurse Officer.

Although her career began in the USAF, where she served for 23 years, Dr. Ball admitted she did not decide to join the military until 6 months before her High School graduation.

A leading reason Dr. Ball joined the military lies within her familial involvement in the Armed Forces. 

She said that her brother served in the military and noted that she “would want good nurses taking care of him.”

Her care for others and her goal to provide the best possible support for others are seen throughout her career, both in and out of the Air Force.

“My underlying priority is to really just to make an impact on our profession,” she explained.

After earning her Master of Science in Nursing from Florida State University and retiring from the Air Force as a Lieutenant Colonel, Dr. Ball came to work as an educator at CSU. 

Dr. Ball credits the Air Force for teaching her that it’s necessary to teach the next generationabout the importance of Nursing.

Even though she had not set out to teach specifically at CSU, Dr. Ball said she wanted to teach at a faith-based institution. 

“Teaching here kind of lets you be like, your full self. You don’t have to hide who you are spiritually or any of that, because that’s the job,” she said.

Dr. Ball attributes much of her career path and timing to God and His plan for her.

“This is really just the vehicle that we use, God could have us anywhere as Christians. For me, I’m not a nurse who just happens to be a Christian. I’m a Christian who happens to be a nurse because that’s where God has me right now,” she exclaims.

During her time at CSU so far, Dr. Ball has accomplished many things, but one thing she would like to do before she retires is to promote an increase in the nursing program’s enrollment.

“I want to see this program grow because there are so many vacancies still in the community and the state and worldwide for nurses, and I feel like we have the capacity to– I know we have the capacity to educate more nurses, more students at a time. So, I would like to see the size of the program double,” she said. 

Her influence on the nursing program is vast, and her leadership standard is one that students follow. 

“Dr. Ball is always demonstrating an example of professionalism and leadership to the program as the Dean of Nursing. She is willing to help us in any way she can,” Nursing student Meredith Ramierez said.

Dr. Ball has dedicated her career to nursing for over 30 years, and she continues to prepare CSU Nursing students to be competent and successful nurses who will advance the field.

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