Jan Atwood, Ph.D., of the University of Nebraska Medical Center College
of Nursing, recently received the Midwest Nursing Research Societys Lifetime
Achievement Award at the societys annual conference in Chicago. The Midwest
Nursing Research Society, which covers a 13-state region, has more than
1,400 members. For 20 years, it has been promoting the growth of nursing
research quality and quantity in the Midwest.
Dr. Atwood is the Niedfelt Professor of nursing with specialties in
oncology and community health nursing, as well as professor of preventive
and societal medicine in the College of Medicine. She also is research
director of the Nebraska Office of Tobacco Control and Research at UNMC,
which is a multi-campus, multidisciplinary endeavor.
The award recognizes a society member who has significantly advanced
the profession of nursing through an extensive program of research or creation
of environments where research can flourish, and whose distinguished career
yielded outstanding and noteworthy accomplishments, said Lauren Aaronson,
Ph.D., president of the Midwest Nursing Research Society and professor
at the University of Kansas School of Nursing.
Dr. Atwoods program of community-based research has made many contributions
in the areas of health promotion and compliance, and intervention development
and testing, she said. The society is most proud to count on her as one
of our own and are delighted to honor her with this award.
One of Dr. Atwoods research focuses is designing ways to measure whether
or not a researchers interventions are successful. She teaches others
how to develop measures and has provided measurement expertise to scientists
in and from many countries and disciplines.
It was nice to have international, interdisciplinary research and mentoring
rewarded so junior scientists might better understand their value, Dr.
Atwood said. I feel this recognition also reflects the research program
at the UNMC College of Nursing.
She was recognized in January for her research and education efforts
when she received the Florence Niedfelt Professorship, an endowed, three-year
appointment for excellence in research, teaching, leadership and mentoring.
She received her bachelors degree in nursing in 1964, and her masters
degree in public health in 1967, from the University of Michigan. She received
an masters degree in sociology in 1976, and her doctoral degree in educational
psychology in 1976, with a minor in nursing from the University of Arizona.