As CEO of NPWH, I am fortunate throughout the year to meet and work with so many wonderful NPs. One of my greatest joys each year is calling the winners of the Inspiration in Women’s Health Award to tell them the good news. Most of them respond with surprise, disbelief, and tears of joy!
During our annual conference in San Antonio, Texas, this year, we recognized four outstanding WHNPs in front of more than 700 of their colleagues. Each of these WHNPs represented one of four diff erent categories: Practice, Research, Policy, or Education. We congratulate all of these winners:
- Marcia Clevesy, DNP, WHNP-BC (Practice): Marcia is Associate Professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and volunteers weekly at the Nevada Obstetrical Charity Clinic, a nonprofit organization providing obstetric and gynecologic care services at reduced fees for uninsured women and underserved minority females. She recently implemented a QI project that improved postpartum depression screening and detection rates in several clinics.
- Nalo Hamilton, PhD, MSN, APRN-BC (Research): Nalo is both a biological researcher and a practicing WHNP. Her unique background in biochemistry and molecular biology, combined with her clinical expertise as a WHNP, enables her to investigate questions related to women’s health. Her current research focuses on the identifi cation of biological markers for screening and therapeutic treatment of triple-negative breast cancer.
- Allyssa Harris, PhD, RN, WHNP-BC (Policy): Allyssa is the WHNP program director at Boston College. She is also a mentor for Boston College’s Keys to Inclusive Leadership Program, which helps prepare nurses from disadvantaged backgrounds, including members of racial and ethnic minority groups, to enter the nursing workforce as leaders with the inherent capacity to make a diff erence in local communities and women’s health.
- Anne Moore, DNP, WHNP, ANP, FAANP (Education): Anne developed the WHNP program at Vanderbilt University, serving a total of 22 years as both instructor and program director. She trained NPs all over the country in managing contraception and STDs with the National Family Planning Training Center. She has also educated and trained indigenous providers on LARC for ACOG and has been published more than 100 times. She is currently a Senior Medical Science Liaison for AMAG Pharmaceuticals.
This year, for the first time, we honored and recognized a pioneer for WHNPs: Fran Way, RNC-E, WHNP, MS. Fran’s career in reproductive healthcare began in 1960 and spanned 32 years with Planned Parenthood Affi liates in Iowa and Wisconsin. In 1972, she founded one of the country’s first WHNP programs, which was also the first to be funded by Title X. In 1980, Fran was one of 20 NPs who met to discuss starting a national organization for NPs working in family planning and reproductive health settings. The organization was initially called the National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Family Planning. The term Family Planning was then broadened to Reproductive Health, which was then expanded, finally, to Women’s Health. With regard to her involvement with the National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health (NPWH), Fran served as a member of the organizational committee, then on the Board of Directors (BOD), and then as Chair of the BOD from 1988 to 1992.
In 1994, Fran assisted in establishing NPWH’s popular continuing education approval program. In 1997, Fran represented NPWH in a new national coalition of nursing education credentialing organizations. Over the next 10 years, Fran continued to represent NPWH and the interests of WHNPs on a variety of task forces of nursing organizations that worked to develop consensus on role defi nition, accreditation, certifications, and licensure of advanced practice registered nurses. If it weren’t for Fran, digging in her heels and standing up for the role definition of WHNPs, there would be no WHNP specialty.
Because of Fran Way’s role as a founder of NPWH and as a facilitator in guiding the growth and success of NPWH, along with her extraordinary vision, passionate advocacy, and outstanding commitment to the WHNP role, I was deeply honored to present her with the first Fran Way Legacy Award on October 11, 2018.
What a privilege it is to work among such talented and dedicated WHNPs!
– Gay Johnson
Chief Executive Officer, NPWH
