Nursing Student Named Nurse Practitioner of the Year
Ph.D. student Susan Matthews
was selected as the 2006 Kentucky Nurse Practitioner of the Year
and awarded the 2006 State Award for Excellence by the American
Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP).
"The UK College of Nursing
is very proud of Susan," said Jane Kirschling, dean of the
College of Nursing. "She has been a doctoral student with the
college since 2001 and has worked hard as she has progressed
through the program. We are excited for Susan as she receives
these two prestigious awards."
Susan will be recognized for
her accomplishments by UK President Lee Todd at the Fri., Nov.
17 UK men’s basketball game. The game will be televised on Fox
Sports Net South, with tip-off at 7 p.m.
The AANP annually recognizes
nurse practitioners in each state who are demonstrating
excellent health care delivery within their professional
practice. The recipient of the award must meet certain
criteria:
-
Demonstrate excellence
as a nurse practitioner and a role model for other nurse
practitioners,
-
Has made significant
contributions to the improvement of health care for
individuals, families and communities,
-
Is creative in his/her
approach to NP care, through effective communication and
quality of care,
-
Has had a positive
effect on clients and on nurse colleagues,
-
Utilizes current
research to enhance quality of care,
-
Currently licensed as a
registered nurse,
-
Is recognized to
practice as a nurse practitioner in his/her state.
A nurse practitioner is a
registered nurse with advanced, specialized education who can
provide primary health care and manage acute and chronic health
problems. Nurse practitioners can perform physical examinations,
order appropriate tests and diagnose and prescribe treatment for
health problems. Nurse practitioners in Kentucky have recently
been granted authority to write prescriptions for controlled
substances with a collaborating physician.
Matthews owns and operates
her own health care practice in Ohio County, Ky., one of the few
privately owned practices in the state. Pursuing her doctoral
degree while maintaining a busy practice was a personal decision
for Matthews. "I knew from the beginning that I wanted to reach
the highest level that I could," she said.
At some point, Matthews
would also like to teach and pursue her research interests in
diabetes management and adolescent health and risk behavior.
Matthews received $336,000 through the Kentucky Incentive
Project Grant for her research project to reduce tobacco and
alcohol use among adolescents.
While Matthews is honored to
be recognized by her peers, she believes the award is not just
about her.
"It makes me feel really
good that other nurse practitioners from Kentucky took the time
to recognize the hard work that I've done," Matthews said. "I
just want to see that nurse practitioners get the recognition
that they deserve. It's not about me getting the recognition. I
just represent nurse practitioners."
Contributed by Ann Blackford, UK Public
Relations
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