NEWS RELEASE

Contact: Leah Jackson (jacksonl@nsula.edu )
News Bureau
Northwestern State University
Natchitoches, LA 71497
(318) 357-6466

2/3/2005

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NATCHITOCHES- The Northwestern State University College of Nursing and three College of Nursing faculty members were recognized with Nightingale Awards, presented by the Louisiana State Nurses Association Foundation. Nightingale Awards are the association's highest recognition for quality service, commitment and excellence for registered nurses in Louisiana.

Northwestern's College of Nursing was named Nursing School of the Year. In addition, Dr. Susan Pierce was named Nurse Researcher of the Year; Ann Deshotels was named LSNA Officer of the Year and Debra Shelton was named Nurse of the Year.

The Nursing School of the Year Award recognizes a school of nursing that offers formal education for entry into practice as a registered nurse. Criteria include comments from graduates and their employees, comments from faculty, first-time passage rate on NCLEX-RN, accreditation status, activity levels of the alumni association and student organization and innovations in education or teaching. The NSU College of Nursing was nominated by the Student Nursing Association.

"The thing that makes me the most proud is that the students put up the nominations," said Dr. Norann Planchock, dean of the College of Nursing. "Our students are active in the state organization and they decided to nominate us. That's what pleased me the most."

The nurse chosen as Nurse Researcher of the Year is one who has demonstrated research capabilities that impacted professional or community levels, has demonstrated an ability to secure funding and whose research is recent or ongoing.

Pierce is an associate professor of nursing. Prior to her appointment to the faculty, she served as a staff nurse, a continuing education coordinator and a charge nurse in the hospital setting. She teaches theory and gives clinical instruction and supervision to students on all levels, from pre-clinical through graduate studies. Her areas of research focus on nursing informatics and evidence-based practice, which measures the level of readiness in nursing students on all levels.

The Nurse of the Year honors a registered nurse most exemplifying the art and science of nursing during the previous year. The nurse's work must impact local or statewide healthcare or
nursing and the recipient must demonstrate both caring and clinical expertise. The recipient must show evidence of continuing education and mentoring must hold membership in professional organizations.

Shelton is an assistant professor of nursing. She teaches in the RN to BSN nursing program, an on-line program for ADN and Diploma nurses. She is an instructor in the Graduate Studies in Nursing program, teaching clinical courses in adult health and critical care, as well as nursing education courses. Her areas of expertise are medical surgical nursing with emphasis on adult health, cardiovascular and oncology nursing, and research in post-myocardial infarction. She has served on several faculty committees and is a trainer for the Nurses Oncology Society.

Deshotels is an assistant professor or nursing at Northwestern's CenLa campus. She previously worked at Rapides Regional Medical Center on the Cardiac Rehabilitation Staff, as an Intensive Care Unit RN and was a clinical instructor for LPNs. In addition to LSNA, she has held offices in the Alexandria District Nurses' Association and STTI Beta Chi Chapter at NSU and Nu Tau Chapter at Louisiana College.

Faculty attending the program to support the nominees were Dr. Norann Planchock, dean of the College of Nursing; Maxine Johnson, Shirley Cashio, Debbie Moore and Kathleen Bailey as well as several nursing students.

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