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Contact: Brian Chandler

Commonwealth PR

804.221.9177

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Virginia Council of Nurse Practitioners Awards $3,000 in Scholarships

RICHMOND, VA – Dec. 10, 2015 – The Virginia Council of Nurse Practitioners (VCNP) awarded two scholarships to local nurse practitioners at the Virginia Nurses Association gala held on Nov. 21.

Dawn Bourne, a family nurse practitioner enrolled in the Doctor of Nursing Practice program at the University of Virginia, received a $2,000 scholarship and Judy Jenks Branscom, a family nurse practitioner pursuing a Doctorate of Nursing Practice in Executive Leadership and Administration at Radford University, received a $1,000 scholarship.

“The 2015 scholarship recipients embody the principles that VCNP champions,” said Maribeth Capuno, RN, MSN, ANP-BC. “Dawn’s research into causes of distress to providers, including a lack of access to care and financial burdens, serves to highlight opportunities for NPs to improve public health, while Judy’s plan for a clinic staffed primarily by NPs to provide primary care, mental health care and pain management, aligns with our vision for nurse practitioners across the Commonwealth.”

Dawn Bourne:

In addition to her dedication to clinical practice, Bourne has a passion for clinical ethics and was invited to join the UVA Ethics Consult Service after spending an entire semester learning the core competencies of a clinical ethics consultant. In that role, she will serve as a leader and educator of healthcare providers of all disciplines as well as patients and their families. As part of her studies at UVA, Bourne’s Capstone examines moral distress in primary care providers and how it impacts the quality of health care patients receive.

Judy Jenks Branscom:

Branscom has spent more than 13 years as a nurse practitioner providing primary care in the New River Valley, during which she became concerned about the diminishing sources of primary care and mental health services. To help meet the needs of patients in Pulaski, she has developed a plan to open a primary care clinic that would offer primary care, mental health, and pain management services. In addition to her work as an NP, Branscom also serves as adjunct faculty of Nursing at Jefferson College of Health Sciences, which sparked the idea that her primary care clinic will serve as a preceptor site for all levels of nursing and mental health students.

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VCNP’s scholarship, which was awarded for the first time in 2010, honors nurse practitioners and their passion for quality health care.  The scholarship is funded through donations from VCNP members and provided in part by the Virginia Nurses Foundation. Scholarship applicants must be members of VCNP who are enrolled in a doctoral program in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Applicants also must have completed 50 percent of the required hours of graduate study and exhibit academic excellence and a commitment to advanced practice nursing with strong clinical and leadership abilities