Faculty and Staff Achievements

The School of Nursing is proud to highlight the achievements of faculty and staff since the last Vital Signs issue.

Nelson Order Selection and TEACH Prize Award Nominee

Congratulations to our School of Nursing Nelson Order faculty for this year's selection. Assistant Professors Dr. Kayla Carr, Jennifer Hargett and Gaye Ragland joined Instructor Tara Price to represent the SON in the 2020 Nelson Order class. The purpose of the Nelson Order is to honor our institution's best teachers, as selected by students, their peers and recommended by the deans of their respective schools. In addition, one faculty member is chosen by each dean to represent the school for The Regions Bank TEACH Prize Award. Carr was chosen to be the SON nominee and could win a cash award of $10,000 from Regions Bank.

LaDonna Northington, DNS, RN, BC

Dr. LaDonna Northington was recognized with an honorable mention for the Beacon Award - Faculty Category at The Pillars 2020 recognition service. The Beacon Award honors any clinical or non-clinical faculty member with an academic designation or rank who demonstrates inclusive excellence in teaching, instruction, research, or clinical practice at UMMC.

Carl Mangum, PhD, RN, PMHNP-BC, CHS, CHEP

Dr. Carl Magnum has been selected by the American Nurses Association to serve on the Nurse Suicide Prevention Review Committee. This year, in particular as we celebrate the WHO designation of the Year of the Nurse, the ANA is focusing on suicide prevention among the nursing workforce. The SON is proud to call Dr. Magnum one of our own and we appreciate the good work he is doing on behalf of all nurses on this national committee.

Johnnie Sue Wijewardane, PhD, APRN, FNP-BC, FAANP

Dr. Johnnie Sue Wijewardane is leading the SON initiative, in collaboration with the American Society of Addiction Medicine, to teach nurse practitioners a Substance Use Disorder curriculum. As one of ten schools selected in the US, this funded program began as a collaboration between AACN and the ASAM. The SON will receive a $5,000 award for the project's implementation. Thank you to Dr. Wijewardane for applying and spearheading this curriculum!

Mississippi Nurses Foundation research awards

PhD graduate Dr. Carolann Risley and PhD candidate Kim Douglas  presented their research to a packed house at the MNA convention this past fall. Thank you again to Mississippi Nurses Foundation for awarding funds to these nurse researchers! These inaugural award winners set the bar high for nursing science.

Michelle B. Goreth, DNP, APRN, CPNP-AC, RN-BC

Dr. Michelle Goreth, associate professor and director of acute/primary pediatric and neonatal nurse practitioner tracks, was selected to serve on a multidisciplinary joint task force with The Society of Trauma Nurses and The Pediatric Trauma Society. The taskforce will develop the first nursing course curriculum for pediatric trauma care called the Pediatric Trauma Nursing Course. Congratulations to Dr. Goreth!

SNRS mentoring program

Assistant Professors Amanda Criswell and Dr. Tina Ferrell with Instructor Jennifer Billings were selected to participate in the Southern Nursing Research Society (SNRS) Mentoring program. Their mentors are well known leaders in nursing who will help “develop the next generation of nurse scientists and researchers.”

Katie Hall, PhD, RN, CCRN-P

Dr. Katie Hall was accepted into the Mississippi Center for Clinical and Translational Research’s (MCCTR) Mentoring Academy. After graduating the competitive academy herself, the assistant professor will join academy SON alumnae Dr. Angela Duck, Dr. Deborah Konkle-Parker and other graduates in the program that mentor the next generation of researchers developing their programs of research at MCCTR.

Mary A. Smith, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, FAANP

Dr. Mary A. Smith, associate professor and adult-gerontology nurse practitioner track director, was awarded Quality Payment Program (QPP) Clinician Champion Alumni Status from the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). She was one of 10 clinicians nationwide selected by CMS for inclusion the first cohort upon the inception of the QPP Clinician Champion charter in 2016. The CMS QPP Clinician Champions Program launched in September 2016 with two key roles: 1) to review and provide feedback to CMS on QPP-related communications, materials and resources to improve clarity and content; and 2) to serve as a connection between CMS and the clinician community to support continuous improvement in the QPP. Since the inception of the first cohort of QPP Clinician Champions, cohorts two and three have been added.

SON faculty and staff service recognition

Thank you to all of the following SON faculty and staff for their combined 165 years of service!

• 25 Years:
  • Amy Williams, assistant professor
  • Dr. Susan P. Lofton, professor
• 20 Years:
  • Kim Douglas, assistant professor
  • Dr. Lishia S. Lee, associate professor
• 15 Years:
  • Clint McHann, education administrator
  • Vanessa Virgil, business operations supervisor
• 10 Years:
  • Dr. Kayla Carr, assistant professor
  • Martha Flowerday, executive assistant
• 5 Years:
  • Dr. Robin Christian, professor
  • Dr. Sharon D. McElwain, assistant professor
  • Dotie Stewart, education administrator
  • Josh Hardy, project manager
  • Presly Lowry, instructor
  • Ramona Brock, LPN
  • Gwen Dew, RN

Welcome to the SON faculty and staff that have joined since the last issue!

Faculty: Cassie Austin, Jennifer Billings, Dr. Tammy Dempsey, Debi Fatherree, Dr. Michelle Goreth, Hannah Hogg,  Jessica Pickens, Tara Price, Dr. Julie Sanford, Dr. Mary Smith and Dr. Joseph Tacy.

Staff: Jason Dill, Darlene Emile, Shakelia McLaurin, Molly Moore and Jody Morgan.