By Frank Couch
Two University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing alumni and faculty were recognized at the Alabama State Nurses Association Annual Convention, held virtually in September 2020. This year’s theme was “Celebrating the Year of the Nurse,” aligning with the 2020 Year of the Nurse and Midwife.
Associate Professor Natalie Baker, DNP, CRNP, GS-C, CNE, FAANP, received the Cindajo Overton Outstanding Nurse Educator Award. This award recognizes educators that show success in several areas, including excellence in teaching; advancing the science of nursing; promoting a theory-based curriculum; and influencing scholarly development.
Baker is a three-time graduate from the UAB School of Nursing earning her BSN in 1985, MSN in 1990 and her DNP in 2010. She teaches in the School’s adult-gerontology primary care nurse practitioner program and was recognized in 2018 as a Gerontological Distinguished Educator by the National Hartford Center of Gerontological Nursing Excellence. She is a Fellow of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners and President-Elect of the Gerontological Advanced Practice Nursing Association, a national professional organization for advanced practice nurses caring for older adults.
UAB Assistant Director of Advanced Practice Providers and Clinical Assistant Professor of Nursing Eileen Meyer, DNP, ACNP-BC, was awarded the Health Policy Award. Meyer is a two-time graduate from the UAB School of Nursing, earning her MSN in 1997 and DNP in 2017. She serves as Senior Policy Advisor for the Nurse Practitioner Alliance of Alabama and previously held the position of Vice President of Policy. Meyer has worked to expand the practice of nurse practitioners by working alongside Alabama Medicaid to expand inpatient billing codes and billable procedures, developed the Critical Care ADVACNCED Protocol with the ABN/ BME, sponsored Alabama Act 2018-474 (Signature Authority Bill) and is actively working to increase the MD:NP ratio. Through Meyer’s advocacy, state leaders are more informed about nurse practitioners and their scope of practice.