Heather has earned her Ph.D. in Nursing Education from Walden University. She has a Post Master's Certificate in Online Teaching from Walden University. She has earned her Master of Science in Nursing degree from Excelsior University, in Nursing Informatics. She has earned her Associate of Science in Nursing degree from The University of the District of Columbia. She has also earned her Bachelor of Science in Environmental Biology Zoology from Michigan State University. As a second career nurse Heather has worked in medical, surgical, neurology, critical care- Whipples, step-down, bariatrics, and orthopedics, and is ANCC board certified in Gerontology.  Heather enjoys nursing research and it's application in education.
Publications: 
Austin, H. M. (2023). The effect of COVID-19 on nursing program passing scores. Teaching and Learning in Nursing, 18(3), e84–e88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.teln.2023.01.009

Austin, H. M. (2023). Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on Comprehensive Predictor Scores as proxy for the NCLEX-RN. Journal of Nursing Education, 62(11). https://dx.doi.org/10.3928/1484864-20230906-07

Austin, H. M. (2024). The effects of COVID-19 on first-generation college nursing students. Nursing Education Perspectives, 45(2), 118-119. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.NEP.0000000000001212