UAMS Nursing Leader Recognized for Disaster Preparedness Education
| LITTLE ROCK – Cheryl Schmidt, Ph.D., R.N., an associate professor in the Schmidt, a certified nurse educator, was the only fellow selected from Schmidt earned the fellowship due to her involvement in disaster preparedness education. Since 2001, she has traveled the country educating nursing students, nurses and other health care providers how to respond to natural and man-made disasters. She serves on the Arkansas Department of Health Emergency Preparedness Advisory Committee and helped implement two U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration grants to develop educational materials. She has responded to disaster relief efforts related to ice storms, tornadoes, heat emergencies and hurricanes. The academy fosters nursing education excellence by capitalizing on the wisdom of fellows like Schmidt, who will continue to provide visionary leadership in nursing education and in the academy. Schmidt also serves as the consultant to the National Student Nurses’ Association (NSNA) Disaster Relief Task Force and led a national study of nursing students’ level of disaster preparedness. The study has led to guidelines that will prepare nursing students for disaster preparedness and response. The study’s findings have been presented nationally and internationally. UAMS is the state’s only comprehensive academic health center, with five colleges, a graduate school, a medical center, six centers of excellence and a statewide network of regional centers. UAMS has 2,538 students and 733 medical residents. Its centers of excellence include the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, the Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, the Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy, the