Guest Contributor: Daniel Pesut
Guardian of the Discipline
In Memoriam
Dr. JoAnne Herman PhD RN, Professor Emerita University of South Carolina (1944-2024)
Columbia, South Carolina – JoAnne Herman, PhD, RN, wife, mother and esteemed Professor Emerita at the College of Nursing at the University of South Carolina passed away at the age of 80 on March 11, 2024. Born in Anderson, Indiana ( February 28, 1944) she was the daughter of the late Robert William Jerram and Louise Martel Wehrs Jerram. With an adventurous spirit and a bold approach to life, JoAnne leaves an impactful legacy that touches family, friends, colleagues, and students. During her thirty-year career, Dr. Herman was well-known for her academic research, scholarly publications, and outstanding teaching abilities. Beloved by her students and faculty, she was a mentor to many. Dr. Herman advised in the development of the Acute Care Nursing Practitioner Program at the USC College of Nursing. She published extensively in nursing literature and co-authored a book on clinical reasoning skills that continues to be part of the College of Nursing curriculum today. She and her husband funded the Joanne Herman Doctorate of Nursing Practices Endowed Scholarship Fund to assist deserving nurse practitioner students. For more about her life and legacy read here: https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/columbia-sc/joanne-herman-11707531
JoAnne Herman Obituary – Columbia, SC
Dr. Joanne Herman, PhD, RN, was a distinguished scholar and leader in nursing, particularly in the realm of clinical reasoning. Her contributions to the discipline, including her collaboration with Dr. Daniel J. Pesut, have left an indelible mark on nursing education and practice. One of her most significant contributions was the development of the Outcome Present State Test (OPT) Model of Clinical Reasoning, a transformative approach that enhances reflective thinking and decision-making in nursing. Dr. Herman’s mentorship and scholarship have shaped nursing education, particularly in clinical reasoning and faculty development. Her work continues to influence nursing professionals and educators worldwide. She was the recipient of many awards including the University of South Carolina Michael J. Mungo Undergraduate Teaching Award, the University of south Carolina (USC) College of Nursing Outstanding Faculty Award, and was honored with the Palmetto Gold Award, which recognizes the top 100 nurses in South Carolina.
Honoring Dr. Joanne Herman’s Legacy
Dr. Herman’s work emphasized the evolution of the nursing process, advocating for a more dynamic and responsive model that integrates reflection, outcome specification, and testing within clinical narratives. Her scholarship, including co -creating and co-authoring Clinical Reasoning: The Art and Science of Critical and Creative Thinking with Dr. Daniel Pesut has been instrumental in shaping contemporary nursing education and has been implemented in nursing curricula around the world. The OPT Model represents a third-generation nursing process meta-model designed to assist students in planning and evaluating nursing care. It has been widely used in medical-surgical courses to assess students’ clinical reasoning skills, providing a structured framework for evaluating patient outcomes. Dr. Herman’s work in this area has significantly influenced how nursing students develop and refine their clinical reasoning and decision-making knowledge skills, and abilities.
Selected References and Resources
Pesut, D. J., & Herman, J. (1992). Metacognitive skills in diagnostic reasoning: Making the implicit explicit. International Journal of Nursing Terminologies and Classifications, 3(4), 148-154.
Herman, J., Pesut, D. J., & Conard, L. P. (1994). Using metacognitive skills: the quality audit tool. International Journal of Nursing Terminologies and Classifications, 5(2), 56-64.
Pesut, D., Herman, J., & Fowler, L. (1997). Toward a Revolution in Thinking: The OPT Model of Clinical Reasoning, pp. 88-92. Viewpoints Chapter 12 in J. McCloskey & H. Grace. Current Issues in Nursing. St. Louis: Mosby: Fifth Edition.
Pesut, D. J., & Herman, J. A. (1998). OPT: Transformation of Nursing Process for Contemporary Practice. Nursing Outlook, 46(1), 29-36.
Pesut, D. J., & Herman, J. (1999). Clinical Reasoning: The Art and Science of Critical and Creative Thinking. Delmar.
Herman, J., Mock, K., Blackwell, D., & Hulsey, T. (2005). Use of a pregnancy support web site by low‐income African American women. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, & Neonatal Nursing, 34(6), 713-720.
Register, M. E., & Herman, J. (2006). A middle range theory for generative quality of life for the elderly. Advances in Nursing Science, 29(4), 340-350.
Kautz, D., Kuiper, R., Bartlett, R., Buck, R., Williams, R., & Knight-Brown, P. (2009). Building evidence for the development of clinical reasoning using a rating tool with the Outcome-Present State-Test (OPT) Model. The Southern Online Journal of Nursing Research, 9 (1), https://libres.uncg.edu/ir/uncg/f/R_Bartlett_Building_2009.pdf
Register, M. E., & Herman, J. (2010). Quality of life revisited: the concept of connectedness in older adults. Advances in Nursing Science, 33(1), 53-63.
Herman, J. (2016). Guiding the Future: Mentoring Faculty in Nursing Scholarship University of South Carolina College of Nursing.
About Daniel Pesut
Daniel J. Pesut PhD RN FAAN is a nurse educator, academic, researcher, consultant, and coach. He is an Emeritus Professor at the University of Minnesota School of Nursing and Emeritus Katherine R. and C. Walton Lillehei Chair in Nursing Leadership at University of Minnesota. He is also an Emeritus Professor of Nursing at Indiana University School of Nursing. He has a long-standing commitment to creativity and innovation in nursing education, futures thinking, and foresight leadership development in nursing and health care.