UAB School of Nursing Acute Care Pediatric Nurse Practitioner graduate, Yolanda Harris, was awarded John Dystel Nursing Fellowships from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society in May. When told she won the fellowship she said, "Upon receiving notification for this award, my emotions raced with feelings of joy, accomplishment and prestige. I am most honored to be one of the few pediatric nurse recipients of this fellowship and view this as an opportunity to become a leading expert in the field of pediatric Multiple Sclerosis not only in the Southeast but in the U.S. as well." The Fellowship is a three or six month program that pairs the nursing fellows with an experienced MS nurse at a recognized MS clinical facility. Yolanda will receive her training at the newly established Pediatric MS Center of Excellence at University of Alabama, and the associated adult MS Center. She will become one of the very few experienced pediatric MS nurse practitioner in the country. "My fellowship goals will be directed toward three main objectives: 1) clinical care 2) research training and 3) education. I will be mentored by Willie Whatley and Beverly Layton, who are accomplished UAB MS nurse experts and will work directly with the Local MS Society in chapter sponsored support and education programs. Upon completion of this program, I will take the knowledge that I have gained to incorporate a nursing care model that not only can be used at the Center for Pediatric Onset Demyelinating Disease (CPODD) but also set the standard for nursing care models around the world when treating and caring for pediatric patients with demyelinating disease."
Encouraging students and graduates to advance the science of nursing through research is a priority in UAB School of Nursing. Yolanda said of her experience at UAB School of Nursing, "The research training and guidance that I received through the LEAH fellowship while in graduate school at UAB can be sited as one of my reasons for succeeding early on in my career. Great mentors like Jean Ivey and Anne Turner-Henson as well as instructors like Richard Brown, Pamela Bryant, Susan Lacey and Kristen Osborn have made my educational experience and career very successful and rewarding!" According to Dean Harper, "The School of Nursing faculty, students and graduates generate and test new nursing knowledge to improve practice and the lives of the patients and communities they serve."
Funding for the John Dystel Nursing Fellowship is provided through the efforts of Oscar Dystel and his daughter, Jane in memory of Jane's brother John, who died from complications of MS, after a promising career as a lawyer.