Washington Regional nurse wins national award

FAYETTEVILLE – Terri Church, a clinical nurse specialist at Washington Regional, has been named CNS Educator of the Year by the National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists (NACNS), an organization representing all clinical nurse specialists in the U.S.

She will receive the award at the association's annual conference March 9 in Chicago.

Clinical nurse specialists, like Church, are advanced practice nurses who have demonstrated expertise in a specific area of nursing and who are typically involved in education, research and facility administration. They also have a master’s degree or doctoral degree in the field.

Church earned both a master’s degree and a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Central Arkansas, which prepared her for certification as a clinical nurse specialist. She also earned a post-graduate education certificate.

At Washington Regional, Church promotes clinical improvement through use of the electronic medical record. She has also served in critical care at Washington Regional, focusing on patient outcomes, patient safety, patient satisfaction, quality of care, regulatory agency requirements and budgetary goals.

Church regularly participates in panel discussions and provides informatics tours for nursing students at the University of Arkansas, where she has taught nursing classes. Additionally, Church has written a weekly newspaper column focusing on public health and health education.

Before joining Washington Regional in 2010, Church was a nursing supervisor at Conway Regional Medical Center and also taught nursing at the University of Central Arkansas.