Drs. Lillian Tom-Orme and Martha Baker are pictured left at the National Advisory Committee meeting of the ANA-SAMHSA Minority Fellowship Program (MFP) in Silver Spring, MD on November 12-13, 2015. Dr. John Lowe also serves on the committee. Lillian and Martha are representatives of NANAINA on this committee. The MFP is funded by SAMHSA for doctoral level education in psych-mental health nursing. This year only one American Indian nurse was selected among a number of fellows from other ethnic populations. Dr. Cynthia Greywolf, Cherokee, who has a DNP will be working on her PhD in psych-mental health at the University of Hawaii. The MFP would like to encourage more AIAN to apply as we tend to have the lowest number of fellows and some years we have no applicants. The MFP provides funding and support during the fellowship. For more information visit: http://www.samhsa.gov/
Dr. Leann Nichols (Cherokee), Associate Professor of Nursing in the College of Health Sciences, at the University of Tulsa was one of the recipients of the Medicine Wheel Awards at the May 2015 graduation. Leann received this service recognition for her work with the Tulsa Day Center for the Homeless and the Tulsa VA Outpatient Clinic where she takes her students. Leann has been an active member of NANAINA over the years and this month was recently voted in as the Treasurer of the National Coalition of Ethnic Minority Nurses Associations. For more, check out this link: http://utulsa.edu/news/
The National Coalition of Ethnic Minority Nurses Associations (NCEMNA ) is an organization made up of five ethnic minority nursing associations; NANAINA, National Black Nurses Association (NBNA), National Association of Hispanic Nurses (NAHN), Asian American Pacific Islander Nurses Association (AAPINA), and the Philippine Nurses Association of America (PNAA). NANAINA members who currently serve on the NCEMNA Board include Leann Nichols, Sandy Littlejohn, Sandy Haldane, and Lillian Tom-Orme. Dr. Bette Jacobs is one of the founders of NCEMNA and served on its first Board. NCEMNA advocates for equity and justice in nursing and health care for ethnic minority populations and serves as a voice for ethnic nurses. More information about NCEMNA is available at: http://www.ncemna.org/about.