BethAnn Nowak is the inaugural recipient of the Mary V. Insall Scholarship. She earned her first Master’s degree in Nursing from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee as a Clinical Nurse Leader in 2018 and her post-Master’s Certificate in Nursing as an Adult Primary Care Nurse Practitioner with an emphasis in Gerontology from Marquette University in 2021. She is currently a Doctor of Nurse Practice student at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 

BethAnn was the proud recipient of a fellowship from the Clement J Zablocki VA Medical Center for the 2020-21 school year where she developed skills in the primary care and orthopedic clinics. While in residency at the VA, her research focused on the early identification of patients at risk for alcohol withdrawal syndrome. 

Orthopedics is not a new field for this scholar. Prior to returning to school in 2015, she was a post-rehabilitation Medical Exercise Specialist specializing in knee, hip, and spine recovery. She left behind a lucrative independent business to enter nursing. A driven woman, BethAnn continued to work full-time as a new nurse in a private rehabilitation hospital while completing her research in traumatic brain injury education to complete her Master’s degree. 

She also continues to work full-time as a surgical ambulatory nurse for Wisconsin’s largest healthcare system, BethAnn is responsible for the coordination of care for five clinic locations, assisting with minor surgical procedures and educating patients and their family members pre- and post-operatively. 

With two semesters of education remaining, BethAnn intends to remain positioned as an RN to allow her the ability to focus on her final research project, minimizing post-operative complications in colon resection patients. 

Her long-term goal remains to be focused on providing care to Wisconsin’s rural residents and hopes to provide evidence-based care in an outreach clinic for a community that may otherwise have to drive 50 or more miles for health care. She intends to use her Midwestern character—hard work, strong will, and determination—to provide wellness, support, and encouragement to the glacial spaces of her state.