By Laura Gasque
University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing alumna and adjunct assistant professor D'Ann Somerall DNP, CRNP, FNP-BC (BSN 1995, MSN 1999, DNP 2011), has been named Interim Executive Director of the Alabama State Nurses Association (ASNA). The membership-based organization is the professional voice of nurses in the state.
Since starting the position in February, Somerall has overseen the launch of a new website and a weekly e-newsletter. She’s worked to evaluate the budget to make sure each district has enough resources to serve its members.
Somerall also is working to encourage ASNA members to become more engaged in legislative issues in order to address concerns. “We all have to join together to make change happen. The ASNA’s role is to advocate for nurses. We want to empower nurses to stand up for themselves and to believe in themselves.”
ASNA’s membership includes more than 2,700 nurses across the state. Somerall hopes to increase that number to close to 5,000 by the end of the year by reconnecting with nurses and reaching out to nurses who are just starting their careers. In the past few months, Somerall has already seen an increase in memberships and renewals.
“The more people we can have engaged in our profession the better off we’ll be,” Somerall said. “I love being a nurse. I love being a nurse practitioner. There is no better job in the world. I want it to continue to be an honorable profession for the future.”
Somerall is immediate past president of the Nurse Practitioner Alliance of Alabama and serves on its executive board. She is Region Eight Coordinator for Sigma, which includes chapters in Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama.
Somerall served as coordinator of the School’s Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) Specialty Track from 2012 to 2017. In 2016, she was the recipient of the President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. Somerall received the Alabama State Award for Excellence from the American Association of Nurse Practitioners in 2015.
In 2020, the School featured Somerall in its Legacy of Leadership podcast.
