Two-time University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing alumna Rachel Kummer, MSN, CRNP, AGNP-C (BSN 2013, MSN 2017), has received the 2020 Nurse Practitioner Alliance of Alabama Rising Star Award.
This annual award recognizes a nurse practitioner that demonstrates clinical excellence, innovative approaches to care and health policy leadership. It is open to nurse practitioners in their first five years of practice.
Kummer is a clinical instructor at the University of Alabama in Huntsville and has always aspired to be a nurse.
“Nursing was always my aspiration because it is person-oriented but also incorporates practical skills and critical thinking,” Kummer said. “I learned about advanced practice nursing while receiving my bachelors in nursing, and I immediately knew that was what I wanted to do. As a nurse practitioner, my goal is to provide evidence-based care to my patients and maintain the trust they have put in me as their provider.”
As a nurse practitioner, Kummer approaches patient care by first understanding patient goals for their health and by integrating best practices into those goals.
“I want to contribute to the advancement of nurse practitioners as health care providers, especially for those whose access to health care is limited or in areas where quality of delivery can be improved. Everyone deserves access to high-quality healthcare, and as a provider it’s my responsibility to work within that mindset,” Kummer said.
Instructors and faculty at the UAB School of Nursing also inspired Kummer to give back to the nursing profession as an educator.
“I am very grateful for the education I received from UABSON because I do think it contributed greatly to my career. There are many nursing faculty who were especially inspiring, which is why I decided to include teaching in my career,” she said. “It's part of my responsibility to help others learn and grow in the profession, and the dedication of my former professors and instructors helped me understand that.”
