Recipients of Inaugural Nurse Practitioner History Grants Announced

Media Contact: Bryan Black

Seven individuals receive funding to help preserve nursing history.

AUSTIN, TEXAS — The American Association of Nurse Practitioners® (AANP) proudly announces the recipients of the inaugural AANP Nurse Practitioner History Grants. Open to any AANP member in good standing, these grants were created by the AANP History Committee to aid nurse practitioner (NP) researchers or scholars working to explore new insights into the historical foundation of the NP role — and to honor the positive impact NPs have made on the health of patients.

“The nurse practitioner role began with one educational program at the University of Colorado in the 1960s and has since grown into a reliable, trusted, international health care profession, changing lives through person-centered, high-quality health care,” said April N. Kapu, DNP, APRN, ACNP-BC, FAANP, FCCM, FAAN, president of AANP. “NPs have added 355,000 health care providers to this country’s workforce. AANP values the rich history of the NP role and wants to ensure it is preserved. I especially thank the AANP History Committee for their foresight in creating and maintaining these grants.”

AANP National NP History Grant

Nancy Lawton, MN, ARNP, FNP-BC, FAANP, is the first recipient of the AANP National NP History Grant. Lawton will receive $4,000 to support her project, which will trace the development of the NP role in the state of Washington and nationally. According to Lawton, this project will help fill existing gaps to create a more complete archive of advanced practiced registered nurses (APRNs) through original research and interviews with primary sources.

AANP State NP History Grants

NP history will be augmented at the state level through the efforts of six grant recipients.

• Cathy Arvidson, PhD, FNP, RN, FAANP — Produce a video documentary tracing the history the NP role in Idaho.
• Lee Moss, MS, APRN, FNP-BC, ANP-C, FAANP, FAAN — Document and archive the evolution of the NP vocation in Utah.
• Dianne Willer-Sly, DNP, APRN, CNP, FAANP — Document the NP role in Minnesota from 1965 to 2021.
• Ann Marie Hart, PhD, FNP-BC, FAANP — Research and report on NPs in Wyoming with a focus on the University of Wyoming’s first NP graduate, Maxine Chisholm.
• Delilah Pennington, FNP — Collect, describe and disseminate a collective, extensive and comprehensive record of NP history in Missouri.
• Beverly Lang, CANP — Report on the 30-year history of the Nurse Practitioner Association of Maryland.

Each recipient of a state history grant will receive $1,000 to support their efforts. Additional information about the history of the NP role and AANP’s work to ensure it is recorded for future generations of NPs is available on the AANP website.

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The American Association of Nurse Practitioners® (AANP) is the largest professional membership organization for nurse practitioners (NPs) of all specialties. It represents the interests of the more than 355,000 licensed NPs in the U.S. AANP provides legislative leadership at the local, state and national levels, advancing health policy; promoting excellence in practice, education and research; and establishing standards that best serve NPs' patients and other health care consumers. As The Voice of the Nurse Practitioner®, AANP represents the interests of NPs as providers of high-quality, cost-effective, comprehensive, patient-centered health care. To locate an NP in your community, visit npfinder.com. For more information about NPs, visit aanp.org. For COVID-19 information from AANP, visit aanp.org/COVID19.