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For more information, contact:

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center

Communications and Marketing

Sheila Champlin – (901) 448-4957

 

                                               

Mona Wicks, PhD, Associate Dean at

 

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center,

 

Named a Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Fellow

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Memphis, Tenn. (June 24, 2008) – A national fellowship focused on leading the country’s health care system into the 21^st century has been awarded to Mona N. Wicks, PhD, RN, associate dean for Research at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) College of Nursing.  Dr. Wicks is one of 20 nurses in executive leadership roles nationwide selected as a 2008 Robert Wood Johnson Executive Nurse Fellow. 

Now in its 11^th year, the three-year fellowship program is designed to strategically position the voice of nursing across many sectors of the economy in a health care system undergoing unprecedented change and challenges.

“Nurses must play a pivotal role in leading the redesign and success of health care now and into the future,” said Dr. Wicks.  “The Executive Nurse Fellowship is an intensive opportunity to develop critical leadership skills, work with a nationally recognized team of coaches and instructors from within the health care industry, as well as from other sectors of the economy, and benefit from collaboration with nursing and health care leaders throughout the country.  I am honored and excited to be selected as a participant.”

             “Dr. Wicks has made her mark in nursing as a scientific investigator and an educator,” commented UTHSC College of Nursing Dean Donna Hathaway.  “Without a doubt, she deserves to be among the elite chosen for the Robert Wood Johnson fellowship.”

As part of the fellowship, Dr. Wicks will have an opportunity to undertake a leadership project to benefit the UT Health Science Center with funding support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and matching funds from UTHSC.  Her leadership project entails working with the newly established UTHSC Clinical and Translational Science Center (CTSI).  With a goal of enhancing health outcomes in diverse populations, she will work with the CTSI to build effective and lasting partnerships between the university, community agencies and organizations that facilitate the conduct of clinical research.

Dr. Wicks is a widely published researcher and lecturer and has received numerous awards including the Chancellor’s Distinguished Educator Award (UTHSC), the Professional Achievement in Education Award from Women of Color in Health, Science and Education, and the Student Government Association Executive Council Excellence in Teaching Award.  She is listed in four different Who’s Who directories: the ones spotlighting American Women, Americans, Nursing professionals, and America’s Teachers.  After obtaining her master’s degree from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Nursing, she completed her doctorate at Wayne State University, Detroit, Mich.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our country.  As the nation's largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of all Americans, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful and timely change.  For more than 35 years the Foundation has brought experience, commitment, and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that affect the health and health care of those it serves.  By helping Americans lead healthier lives and get the care they need, the Foundation expects to make a difference in your lifetime.  For more information, visit www.rwjf.org.

As the flagship statewide academic health system, the University of Tennessee Health Science Center is focused on a four-tier mission of education, research, clinical care and public service, all in support of a single goal: to improve the health of Tennesseans.  Offering a broad range of postgraduate training opportunities, the main campus is located in Memphis and includes six colleges: Allied Health Sciences, Dentistry, Graduate Health Sciences, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy.  UTHSC has additional College of Medicine and College of Pharmacy campuses in Knoxville and a College of Medicine campus in Chattanooga.  For more information, visit www.uthsc.edu.

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