Barbara Cobb St. Marie ’78- The March of Dimes 2011 Advanced Practice Nurse of the Year
The advanced practice registered nurse works throughout the entirety of health care. Health promotion, disease prevention, early diagnosis, and treatment to prevent and limit disability are hallmarks of their holistic care model.
This group of nurses with advanced education is at the forefront of our health care reform model – providing the nurses unique perspective for the patient, family, and health of our communities.
Nominees include nurse practitioners – caring for patients and families across our system as primary care providers, the certified nurse midwife – providing care for women in a comprehensive health focused model, the certified nurse anesthetist – delivering expert care during surgical procedures, and the clinical nurse specialist – focused on developing and advancing the use of evidenced based care at the bedside.
The Advanced Practice Nurse of the year was nominated by a group of nurses. They describe her as the heart and soul of the Pain and Palliative Care program in their hospital. She does her work not on her schedule—but on the schedule of her patient and their family—all with compassion and dignity.
She works to advance the practice of her own nursing staff, serving as a mentor with a skill set second to none.
Our advanced practice winner is the primary author of the Core Curriculum for Pain Management Nursing. She gathered more than 50 pain management nurses across the country to collaborate on the initial project published in 2002—and did the same for the second edition published 2010.
This Award goes to Barbara St. Marie, MA, ANP, GNP, PhD Candidate
Class of 1978