October 2015 has been an amazing month for the Loyola University New Orleans School of Nursing. Three prestigious and highly competitive awards have been bestowed on our DNP students, reflecting the stellar work of our students, faculty, staff, and students. Please join us in congratulating the recipients of these awards.
Diana Elwell, BSN, RN (New York, NY), a Post Baccalaureate Doctor of Nursing Practice student was awarded the Nurse Practitioner Student of the Year Award at the annual state conference of the New York Association of Nurse Practitioners (NPA) October 3, 2015 in Niagara Falls, NY. This award is open to all NPA student members, in a highly competitive process. The award is given to the student who most exemplifies excellence – both clinically and academically – and can serve as a role model for other students. Ms. Elwell will complete her DNP Program in December 2015. She is an Emergency Department nurse, who is emphasizing investigation of nurse-run protocols in the emergency department in her DNP Scholarly Project.
Jennifer Creech, BSN, RN (Mandeville, LA), a Post-Baccalaureate Doctor of Nursing Practice student was awarded the Student Nurse Practitioner of the Year Award at the annual state conference of the Louisiana Association of Nurse Practitioners (LANP), in Shreveport, LA (10/8-11/2015). This competitive award is open to all student members of LANP, and awarded to the student who most exemplifies excellence: as a nurse practitioner student and role model for others and in clinical and interpersonal skills, critical, positive, and reflective thinking, and has made a significant contribution to the improvement of nursing care for individuals and their communities. Ms. Creech is emphasizing in her Scholarly Project, the Primary Care Medical Home in a community in New Orleans. She will graduate in May 2016.
Jennifer is also the recipient of a Scholarship from Sigma Theta Tau International, through the Xi-Psi Chapter-at-Large. Sigma Theta Tau International is the international honor society for nursing, with a membership from over 90 countries worldwide. Academic excellence is the hallmark of STTI membership; graduate students must achieve a 3.5 GPA or higher to become a member. Ms. Creech was inducted into STTI in Spring 2015. The scholarships within STTI are highly competitive.