By Erica Techo
University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing doctoral student, pediatric nurse practitioner and adjunct instructor Samantha Weaver, MSN, CRNP, CPNP-AC (MSN 2012), has received one of 32 national scholarships from the Nurses Educational Funds. Weaver received the Lucy C. Perry National Education Fund Scholarship, which will provide support as she continues her doctoral program.
The Nurses Educational Funds, Inc. is a national non-profit that aims to promote leadership through scholarship support for professional nurses seeking masters and doctorate degrees in nursing education, practice, research, administration and health policy.
Weaver’s DNP scholarly project addresses a decline in mental health among nursing staff amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and is titled “Modulating Stress Among Hospital Staff in a Rural Health Setting Utilizing the Community Resiliency Model.”
“I would like to extend sincere thanks to the NEF and the Perry W Miller and Lucy Compton Miller Scholarship Fund for their gracious financial support of my doctoral work,” Weaver said. “The DNP program has provided me the tools to bridge clinical practice, policy, service and research. With these skills, I am confident in my abilities to lead, mentor others, promote health equity and move the needle on population health. Our work in resiliency and efforts to empower and improve the quality of life for vulnerable populations will be the basis for future scholarly work and research.”
As part of the neurology staff at Children’s of Alabama, Weaver has built a successful practice managing pediatric epilepsy, headache, and neuromuscular disease with a focus on multidisciplinary coordination and family-centered education. She also received the Children’s of Alabama's highest Clinical Nursing Excellence award in both 2020 and 2021. Weaver is set to graduate with her DNP in 2022.
