Terri L. White, a nursing doctoral candidate at Texas Woman’s University, was one of two students from the U.S. and Canada to receive a Graduate Student Recognition Award from the Association of Rheumatology Health Professionals (ARHP.) Ms. White received her award at the ARHP’s Annual Scientific Meeting held in Boston Nov. 6 – 7, 2007.

“Hopefully, this recognition will help bring attention to the bone health needs of rural older adults,” Ms. White, RN, MS, FNP-C, said. “Osteoporosis, especially in the rural older adult population, is such an important topic. I plan to use the results of my research study to apply for future grants that will address this issue.”

he ARHP created this award in 2005 to encourage the research of non-physician graduate students in the field of rheumatology — the branch of medicine dealing with the study and treatment of pathologies of the muscles or tendons or joints. Ms. White received a $500 cash award, free registration to the Scientific Meeting and a free one-year membership to the ARHP as a Graduate Student Recognition Award recipient.

Ms. White’s dissertation project is titled “Improving Osteoporosis Knowledge and Healthy Bone Behaviors of Rural-Dwelling Older Adults.”

“This recognition by ARHP underscores the importance and quality of Ms. White’s research,” Dr. Gail Davis, TWU professor of nursing, said. “Her research addresses an important health issue, testing educational approaches that are both effective and feasible in improving the bone health of older adults living in rural areas. The findings should be useful in planning programs that will impact the long-term health of this population.”

The Association of Rheumatology Health Professionals, a division of the American College of Rheumatology, is a professional membership society composed of non-physician healthcare professionals specializing in rheumatology, such as advanced practice nurses, nurses, occupational therapists, physical therapists, psychologists, social workers, epidemiologists, physician assistants, educators, clinicians and researchers. For more information, visit www.rheumatology.org/arhp.

The Southern Nursing Research Society has named Dr. Gail Davis, professor of nursing at Texas Woman's University, the 2008 recipient of the John A. Hartford Geriatric Nursing Research Award.

Dr. Davis will receive this award in recognition for her research on older adults during the society's annual conference scheduled Feb. 21 - 23 in Birmingham, Ala.

"My research with older adults, which focuses on testing interventions for the improvement of pain self-management and for the maintenance of bone health, has been extremely gratifying," said Dr. Davis, B.S.N., M.Ed., Ed.D. "My hope is that my research will add to the knowledge that nurses and other healthcare professionals can use in their practice. Receiving this award from the Southern Nursing Research Society is, for me, a distinct honor."

The John A. Hartford Geriatric Nursing Research Award is given annually to recognize the contributions of an individual whose established program of research has enhanced the science and practice of geriatric nursing in the Southern region. It is one of only five awards the Southern Nursing Research Society gives during its annual conference.

The Southern Nursing Research Society is an organization devoted to promoting the development and utilization of nursing research in all health care agencies and educational settings throughout a 14 state region in the Southern United States, plus the Caribbean, Latin America and South America. For more information, visit www.snrs.org.

With more than 13,000 alumni and more than 2,300 undergraduate and graduate students in Denton, Dallas and Houston, TWU has the largest college of nursing in Texas and produces more new nurses than any other program in the state. According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, TWU's College of Nursing is the fifth-largest in the U.S., and the TWU nursing doctoral program is the largest in the country. For more information, visit www.twu.edu.

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