DISTINGUISHED EDUCATOR AWARD
This year’s Distinguished Educator Award is going to Annelle Reed, MSN, CPNP, a pediatric nurse practitioner in the Division of Pediatric Rheumatology at the University of Alabama, Birmingham, and at Children’s of Alabama, for demonstrating excellence in teaching patients and students/trainees.
“It’s always touching and satisfying to be recognized for your hard work,” Ms. Reed says.
Although many of her family members are teachers, Ms. Reed never envisioned herself as an educator. “I never set out in my career to be an educator,” she says. “Somehow, I got drawn into it when I took a job at [the University of Alabama, Birmingham,] as a pediatric nursing instructor. I had no idea that I would love it so much.”
Over the past several years, Ms. Reed has been instrumental in developing a transition program that helps children with rheumatic conditions better manage their disease when they reach adulthood. The program, launched this year, is currently being assessed for its effectiveness and potential improvements.
Meanwhile, Ms. Reed says she’s “trying to be brave” and submit articles for publication in medical journals. As an active ARP member since 2007, she has already put her writing and editing skills to good use. She edited and created new modules for the ARP Fundamentals of Rheumatology course and two chapters in the Rheumatology Nurses Society’s core curriculum textbook, and reviewed abstracts for the ACR/ARP’s Education Committee.
She enjoys presenting lectures on a variety of rheumatology subjects for local Grand Rounds, workshops and national groups, such as the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners and Rheumatology Nurses Society. She has also facilitated ARP roundtable discussions, moderated presentations and presented the topic, JIA, Across the Lifespan, at the ARP Clinical Focus Workshop in 2016.
For many years, Ms. Reed has carved out time to serve on ARP committees, including the Government Affairs Committee, the Executive Committee, the Pediatric Rheumatology Special Committee and the PRYSM Planning Committee.
As an educator, she values learning and continuously updates her own skills and knowledge. She received her Bachelor of Science in nursing from Emory University, Atlanta, in 1975. She earned a master’s degree in the dual track of education and clinical care specialist from the University of Alabama, Birmingham. Years later, she returned to the university and obtained her nurse practitioner post certificate in 1998.
Ms. Reed says the ARP has been key to her medical education, especially because nursing schools don’t cover pediatric rheumatology. She says she developed her skills predominantly by attending ACR/ARP Annual Meetings, where she was exposed to the latest trends and research, and by being mentored by ARP members. The ACR and ARP also helped her build a global, collaborative network, enabling ideas, knowledge and techniques to be shared.
“I’m very humbled by this award,” Ms. Reed says. “It has encouraged me to keep growing and expand my reach as an educator.”
