By Pareasa Rahimi
The University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing is at the forefront of Pediatric Primary Care Nurse Practitioner education. Graduates of the Master of Science in Nursing and Doctor of Nursing Practice specialty tracks are prepared for advanced nursing practice in a variety of settings with populations of infants, children and adolescents. As advanced primary care specialists, Pediatric Primary Care Nurse Practitioners assess, diagnose and manage commonly occurring episodic and chronic health problems while promoting health and wellness.
Faculty are recognized leaders
Several UAB School of Nursing faculty are involved in the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners. Professor and Associate Dean for Access and Engagement Felesia Bowen, PhD, DNP, RN, FAAN, is President of the organization. Bowen is a nationally certified pediatric nurse practitioner and has distinguished herself as a leader in the areas of pediatric asthma, health disparities and health equity. She has a strong academic nursing background with expertise in teaching, service and research. Bowen began her leadership service to NAPNAP as President of the organization’s New Jersey Chapter. Following her presidency, she chaired the New Jersey Chapter’s Health Policy Committee. Prior to her current role, Bowen served on the Editorial Advisory Board for the Journal of Pediatric Health Care, the official journal of NAPNAP. She most recently served as Vice Chair of NAPNAP’s new Diversity Equity and Inclusion Committee.
Bowen is the recipient of several grant awards, including a five-year Health Resources and Services Administration grant to conduct an upstream, community-level intervention to reduce childhood obesity and its associated poor health outcomes in the Birmingham area. Her expertise in pediatric health care has been recognized at the municipal, state and national levels, including two terms of service as a member of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine Forum for Children’s Well-Being. In 2019, she was inducted as a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing in recognition of her impact on children's health. She also was named FNINR Ambassador in 2023. Bowen was recently named an inaugural Fellow in the National Black Nurses Association’s Academy of Diversity Leaders in Nursing in recognition for her contributions in justice, equity, diversity and inclusion.
At the state level, Assistant Professor and Co-Coordinator of the Pediatric Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Specialty Track Sherita Ethridge DNP, CRNP, CPNP‐PC, CNE (MSN 2004, DNP 2020), and Assistant Professor and Co-Coordinator of the Track Heather Hyde DNP, CRNP, CPNP‐PC (BSN 2014, MSN 2018, DNP 2020), are serving on this year’s Alabama Chapter Executive Board. Etheridge also is a trainee of UAB’s Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Other Related Disabilities interdisciplinary training program and serves on the board for United Ability, an affiliate of the National United Cerebral Palsy Organization and a nonprofit providing services connecting people with disabilities to their communities. She also served on the stakeholder advisory board for the Center for Engagement in Disability Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at UAB.
Professor and Interim Assistant Dean for Graduate Clinical Education—DNP Tedra Smith, DNP, CRNP, CPNP-PC, CNE, CHSE (MSN 2004, DNP 2011), is Director of Pediatric Partnerships at the UAB School of Nursing and holds a position at Children’s of Alabama as a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner. She also co-leads the Clinical Scholars program, a 12-month program in collaboration with Children’s of Alabama designed to increased participation of bedside nurses in quality improvement and leadership development. She currently serves on the Editorial Board for Pediatric Nursing Journal and serves as a reviewer for other journals focused on pediatric health care and teaching initiatives. Through a Health Resources and Services Administrator grant, Smith collaborates with i3 Academy, a public K-5 charter school in Birmingham’s Woodlawn Neighborhood, to provide health screenings and assessments to the community, taking nursing education beyond the classroom and providing experiential learning opportunities for students. She also was the recipient of the 2024 UAB President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching.
Clinical training opportunities and community impact
The school also expands community impact through the work of faculty, pediatric nurse practitioner students and undergraduate students who engage in hands‑on outreach and education across several programs within the School’s Women and Children Health Initiative. Through a partnership with i3 Academy established in 2021, faculty and students provide regular hearing and vision screenings, physical assessments for students and health education events for families.
The School is responding to urgent maternal and infant health care needs in rural Alabama through its new nurse-led Moms and Kids Mobile Health Clinic to help remove barriers to care by bringing services directly to communities in need. The three-year initiative, led by UAB School of Nursing Professor and Associate Dean for Clinical and Global Partnerships Michelle Talley, PhD, CRNP, ACNP‐BC, FAANP, FNAP, FAAN (MSN 2005, PhD 2015), and supported by a grant from the UAB Strategic Investment Fund, expands access to maternal care—including prenatal, pregnancy and postpartum services—as well as child and behavioral health services for families. Etheridge and Hyde serve as pediatric nurse practitioners providing care on the mobile clinic, and beyond clinical care, the initiative will offer interprofessional training opportunities for students across all nursing programs. Pediatric nurse practitioner and nurse-midwifery students will participate in providing patient care under the guidance of the mobile health clinic’s nurse practitioner and nurse-midwife. BSN students also will gain hands-on educational experience by working in the mobile clinic, while DNP students will focus on quality improvement initiatives.
Accomplished alumni bring dedication and passion to the profession
Alumna Tammy Benjamin, MSN, CRNP‑PNP (MSN 2023), is committed to caring for mothers and children, especially in rural settings. After settling in Huntsville, Alabama, she began working at New Hope Children’s Clinic in nearby New Hope, a school‑based, non‑profit pediatric clinic serving 1,000 children. When one of the clinic’s nurse practitioners moved away, Benjamin pursued her MSN in the Pediatric Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Specialty to further invest in her community. In 2022, she received the School’s Florence Nightingale Endowed Award for Scholarly Work to implement an evidence‑based practice plan for adolescents with depression. Endowed by Mrs. Jane Brock, this award supports scholarly projects that positively impact the health and wellbeing of individuals, families, and communities. Benjamin’s project created a treatment plan for clinic patients with mild to moderate depression, including a toolkit of evidence‑based mood‑improving strategies. Its success has led other physicians at the clinic to adopt it. As a student, Benjamin also participated in the Graduate Nursing Education Primary Care Scholars initiative, which provides mentoring, rural‑health content, and leadership development for nurse practitioner students planning to practice in Alabama’s rural‑designated counties. She returned to New Hope Children’s Clinic after graduation.
Alumna Kathleen Wilson, PhD, APRN, CPNP, FNP-BC, BC-ADM, FAANP, FNAP (MSN 1980, PhD 1992), is dually certified as a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner and a Family Nurse Practitioner and is a Clinical Professor/Specialized Teaching Faculty in the Graduate Program at the Florida State University College of Nursing. As an APRN clinician, she practices in the FSU Health Lifestyle Medicine Clinic, the nation’s first college-based, nurse practitioner-led lifestyle medicine clinic. Over more than 40 years as an APRN, she has held positions in nurse practitioner education, research, and administration, along with extensive experience in chronic disease prevention and management, and community program development. Wilson also is serving a 2-year (2024 - 2026) appointment on the Florida Center for Nursing's inaugural Wellbeing Advisory Board, a multidisciplinary statewide board that provides advisement on policy matters that apply to nurses and future nurses in the state of Florida.