Southern Miss Instructor Receives Nurse Researcher of the Year Award
Wed, 03/09/2011 - 09:45am | By: Van Arnold
A compelling desire to help others and sincere commitment to research has translated into a prestigious award for University of Southern Mississippi nursing instructor Dr. Lachel Story.
Story, assistant professor in the School of Nursing, took home the Nurse Researcher of the Year honor during the annual Nightingale Awards ceremony held March 7 in Jackson, Miss. The awards are handed out each year by the Mississippi Nurses Association.
“Words cannot express what winning this award means to me,” said Story, who has been a member of the Southern Miss faculty since 2004. “I am very passionate about the research that I do and helping advance nursing science. Being recognized for your work on such a large stage is humbling.”
Story noted that most of her current focus involves community-based participatory research, specifically training community health advisors in an effort to decrease health disparities.
“This type of research is fulfilling to me as a researcher because I can see how it impacts individuals and their communities,” she said.
This marked Story's first time as a Nightingale Award nominee. Her work ethic and research application drew considerable praise from Dr. Katherine Nugent, director of the School of Nursing at Southern Miss.
“Dr. Story has a passion for conducting nursing research and translation of research to practice and to the development of knowledge,” said Nugent. “She shares that passion with her undergraduate and graduate students, her peers, co-researchers and stakeholders concerned about the health of Mississippians.”