August 2, 2007
Brown appointed Group Health Endowed Nursing Professor
Marie-Annette Brown, professor of family and child nursing at the UW School of Nursing, is the recipient of the school’s new Group Health Endowed Nursing Professorship in Chronic Illness Care, Dean Nancy Woods announced last week.
“Marie-Annette is recognized internationally as a thought-leader in how nursing can best advance its practice to promote self-care and enhance wellness for individuals and families who are living with chronic illness conditions,” Woods said. “She is recognized as a pace-setter and policy leader for advancing nursing practice roles.”
Brown’s work as an educator, researcher and nurse practitioner gives her firsthand knowledge of the many roles nurses play in caring for patients with chronic illnesses. Brown is known for her expertise in grief and loss, sub-clinical depression and nurse practitioner practice. In her study on families dealing with HIV/AIDS and cancer, she provided caregiving information and group support via telephone to lay caregivers in outlying areas of the Pacific Northwest.
She has also studied pioneer and novice nurse practitioners and practice issues such as prescribing barriers faced by nurse practitioners in Washington state. Her specialization in women’s health and her expertise in chronic menstrual cycle problems contribute to her success as a family nurse practitioner at the UW Medical Center Women’s Health Care Clinic. Her research about mild depression led her to coauthor a book called When Your Body Gets the Blues.
At the UW School of Nursing, Brown serves in multiple leadership positions, including coordinator of both the family nurse practitioner program and the primary care program. She currently spearheads development of the new Doctor of Nursing Practice degree.
An elected fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, Brown earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Vanderbilt University in 1970, a master’s degree in nursing from the UW in 1972 and a doctoral degree in nursing science, also from the UW, in 1983.
The professorship allows the school to recruit, retain, reward and recognize distinguished faculty who conduct research and teaching in the area of chronic illness care. Established with a $250,000 gift from Group Health Cooperative, the professorship also provides the UW much-needed support at a time when nursing schools across the country are facing a significant faculty shortage.
In particular, this professorship supports an outstanding faculty leader’s work in educating future nurse leaders, both in academic and clinical settings. It also helps the school and Group Health promote recognition of the ways in which nurses support and improve patient care.
An endowed professorship is a permanent fund established to support a faculty position. Gifts to endowments are invested to create a powerful resource that grows in perpetuity.
