UR Nursing Student Honored by NYS Nurse Practitioner Association

University of Rochester School of Nursing graduate student Darcie Morgan, BSN, RN, CPN, has been named Student Nurse Practitioner of the Year by the Nurse Practitioner Association (NPA) of New York State. She will be presented with the award at the NPA’s annual convention in Saratoga Springs on Oct. 21.

The award recognizes student members of the NPA who exemplify educational excellence, both academically and clinically, and demonstrate an understanding of the role the NPA plays in a student’s education. Candidates for the award must be a student in an accredited nurse practitioner program, have a cumulative GPA of at least a 3.5, and maintain membership in the NPA for at least three months.

A student in the UR Nursing pediatric nurse practitioner program and a registered nurse at Panorama Pediatric Group, Morgan has been an active member of the NPA for two years and serves on the organization’s membership committee.

At the UR School of Nursing, she is a member of the master’s program subcommittee and the school’s student representative to the Upstate New York Chapter of the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners. She has also been inducted into the Epsilon Xi Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau, the international nursing honor society.

“Darcie stands out as a leader,” said Professor of Clinical Nursing Jane Tuttle, PhD, APRN, FNP-BC, FAANP. “She was instrumental in re-establishing a new NP student orientation program here and is also very active in recruiting student members to both the NP Association and the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners.”

“I am so grateful to my advisor, Jane Tuttle, who steered me to the Nurse Practitioner Association, my ‘home base’ for knowledge, networking, and resources,” said Morgan. “The University of Rochester School of Nursing has supported my learning and helped me raise my expectations of my own success.”

Morgan is expected to graduate with her master’s degree in May 2018.