M. Janice Nelson Scholarship
For Doctoral Students Focused on Nursing Education and Service to Nursing Organizations
M. Janice Nelson, EdD, RN, was the founding dean and a professor of the College of Nursing at Upstate Medical University who, throughout her career, was active in many professional nursing organizations, including NEF as a board member and President.
In 2023, a generous bequest was left to NEF to establish this scholarship and honor Dr. Nelson. The M. Janice Nelson Scholarship is dedicated to doctoral study with an emphasis on nursing education and service through leadership in professional nursing organizations.
Featured M. Janice Nelson Scholarship Recipients
The doctoral students who have received this scholarship are nursing educators and/or provide leadership service to professional nursing associations. Future M. Janice Nelson scholars will follow in the footsteps of these first two recipients:
Megan Brunson, PhD, RN
- Worked the night shift by choice to secure resources in a 24/7 environment within the cardiovascular surgical population
- Maintained her Critical Care Registered Nurse (CCRN), Cardiovascular Surgical (CSC), and Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL) certifications
- Was the Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN) 50th national president, representing over 130,000 acute and critical care nurses at the height of the pandemic
- Spoke regularly at national-level conferences and hospitals 100+ times in 5 years
- Was active on the ICU triage task force with the Society of Critical Care Medicine, as a coach for AACN Healthy Work Environment Collaborative, and on multiple review panels
Ihuoma Ezebuihe
- Acquired knowledge in nursing to provide evidence-based diabetes knowledge to her community in Nigeria in their Igbo vernacular, which made a significant impact on their diabetes-related lab results
- Conducted research in the translation of diabetes instruments and diabetes knowledge to expand the understanding of vulnerable, underserved populations.
- Worked at Georgetown University’s same-day surgery unit and Howard University’s medical-surgical unit
- Taught undergraduate and graduate nursing students as a member of the nursing faculty at Coppin State University-School of Nursing