Hiam named Indiana Nurse Practitioner of the Year
Jennie Hiam, instructor in nursing, has been named Nurse
Practitioner of the Year by the Indiana Chapter of the American
Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP). Hiam and winners from
every state will be recognized at the AANP 22nd National
Conference June 20-24 in Indianapolis. In addition, the Indiana
chapter will hold a reception in her honor.
Marcia Plant Jackson, Indiana representative to the AANP, said
Hiam was selected by her peers for her commitment to the
community, especially her service to uninsured and incarcerated
individuals; for her work in the education of family nurse
practitioners; and for her groundbreaking role as a nurse
practitioner in Indiana. |
Hiam |
Hiam has been a nurse practitioner
since 1972, which dates to the early days of advanced practice
nursing in Indiana. She already had earned a master’s degree in
nursing when she completed a family nurse practitioner program at
Indiana University.
“It sounded very exciting to me because we could do so much more
and meet people’s needs so much better. It broadens your nursing,”
Hiam said.
Dr. Nadine Coudret, dean of the USI College of Nursing and
Health Professions said, “Jennie Hiam is a caring, dedicated and
excellent nurse practitioner who serves as a role model for nurse
practitioners in Indiana. Her contributions to nurse practitioner
education and her excellence of care for patients make her a
worthy recipient of this award and a valued graduate nursing
faculty here at the University of Southern Indiana.”
Hiam said it has been shown that family nurse practitioners
provide excellent and effective care. For her, the mark of a good
family nurse practitioner is the practitioner’s relationship to
people.
“It’s not the number of procedures you can do or their
sophistication. It’s your relationship to people — patients,
families, and staff. If you don’t have a relationship, you’re not
going to be effective. The nurse practitioner movement is designed
to improve health care. With good relationships we are much better
able to provide care.”
Hiam joined the College of Nursing and Health Professions faculty
in 1997. She serves the community by working part time at ECHO
Community Health Center. As a faculty member, she participated in
writing and now is involved in implementing a grant program from
the Division of Nursing to provide health-care services to inmates
in Vanderburgh County correctional facilities.
In nominating her for Indiana Nurse Practitioner of the Year, a
former student wrote, “The one thing that she impressed upon me
the most while I was her student was that every person has value
and is worthy of my caring and respect, regardless of his or her
current situation.”
A peer who nominated Hiam, wrote, “Whether she is explaining a
medical condition to an illiterate patient or demonstrating to a
student how to do a complete physical assessment, her passion for
quality nursing care shows.”
Hiam earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing from
Indiana University in addition to completing a family nurse
practitioner program there. Her previous experience includes
employment at Ball Hospital in Muncie, Indiana; Bloomington
Hospital, in Bloomington, Indiana; and Winona Hospital and General
Hospital (Wishard) in Indianapolis. She also has served as a
family nurse practitioner at Huntingburg Clinic, in Huntingburg,
Indiana, and at Tri-Cap Family Planning in Evansville.
Throughout her career Hiam has shared her expertise by teaching.
She was an instructor in medical-surgical nursing at Parkview
School of Nursing in Fort Wayne, Indiana, served on the nursing
faculty at the University of Evansville, and taught medical
technology at Lockyear College in Evansville.
In addition to continuing clinical practice at ECHO, she has
served as a family nurse practitioner for the mobile health unit
of St Mary’s Health Care Services in Evansville.
Hiam received Volunteer of the Year Awards from the YMCA of
Evansville in 2001 and from the United Way of Evansville in 1996.
The American Red Cross has recognized her with two awards — the
Volunteer Award from the Homemaker Division in 1991 and the
Century Award in 1988.
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