Celebrating UT Southwestern’s exceptional Advanced Practice Providers
UT Southwestern is proud to recognize more than 850 Advanced Practice Providers (APPs) across our Health System for outstanding contributions to healing, teaching, and discovering.
This week, the Medical Center launched an inaugural APP Celebration Week to honor all five APP professional groups – Clinical Nurse Specialists, Nurse Midwives, Nurse Anesthetists, Physician Assistants, and Nurse Practitioners. In recognition of the invaluable contributions of APPs, a week of activities was planned, culminating in an APP Celebration event today. This Oct. 29 event includes a virtual presentation of appreciation by Health System leaders, recognition of APP contributions, and a keynote speech on “Burnout and Belonging,” presented by Dr. April Kapu, DNP, APRN, ACNP-BC, President of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners.
A highlight of the event was the announcement and presentation of the first-ever APP Celebration Week Excellence Awards. Out of more than 110 candidates nominated, the APP Engagement Committee selected five winners. The winners were chosen based on contributions that go above and beyond in clinical practice, community service, leadership, scholarly endeavors, and teaching.
Read more below about these outstanding APPs and their important contributions to UT Southwestern’s mission.
Outstanding APP in Clinical Practice
The award for Outstanding APP in Clinical Practice celebrates an Advanced Practice Provider who is enthusiastic, prepared, and effective while engaging in direct patient care; who collaborates respectfully with colleagues; and who practices evidence-based medicine. The recipient must consistently receive positive patient feedback.
Ha Nguyen, M.S.N., APRN, AGACNP-BC
Nephrology, Department of Internal Medicine
Ha Nguyen, an APP on the UT Southwestern Nephrology service since 2017, efficiently and collaboratively runs the inpatient nephrology dialysis service. She carries a large census of complex patients but is said to “never fall short from delivering exceptional care over and beyond what is expected, no matter how busy the day may be,” according to her nominators. She is motivated, well-organized, detail-oriented, and engages team members with enthusiasm. Colleagues note that Ms. Nguyen goes above and beyond on a daily basis, both ensuring that her patients get rapid attention to their clinical needs and fostering collegiality within the interprofessional team.
Ms. Nguyen has also developed solidly supportive relationships with chronic dialysis patients. She demonstrates compassion during her thorough assessments, which leads her frequently hospitalized patients to ask for her by name; the “familiarity clearly brings comfort to them,” nominators wrote.
In addition to providing excellent patient care, Ms. Nguyen remains relentless in her pursuit of academic excellence, seeking opportunities to increase her skills. She has grown in her expertise, as demonstrated by caring for increasingly acute and complex patients, and has trained to perform relevant procedures independently. She now teaches other APPs how to place dialysis lines in order to expedite patient access to this essential therapy. Trainees and colleagues alike seek out Ms. Nguyen for her depth of knowledge in dialysis guidelines.
In the words of her colleagues: Ms. Nguyen is “a joy to work with” and “[a] staple of our Nephrology department in regard to everyday clinical practice.”
Outstanding APP in Scholarly Endeavors
The award for Outstanding APP in Scholarly Endeavors celebrates an Advanced Practice Provider who demonstrates efficacy in research, scholarly work, and/or quality and safety improvement projects. This APP has contributed to literature via a high-quality publication, received grant funding for their scholarly work, and/or served as a co-Investigator on a new Institutional Review Board-approved study. The recipient must have completed a scholarly project with demonstrated impact.
Christy Hicks, M.S., APRN, WHNP-BC
Urogynecology and Pelvic Floor Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Christy Hicks has been practicing in women’s health at UT Southwestern since 2016, steadily increasing her scholarly endeavors in urogynecology, specifically pelvic pain and interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome. Ms. Hicks has authored high-quality reviews and best-practice recommendations, with articles in four publications since 2017 on www.ichelp.org and in the ICA Update journal. She has co-authored a book chapter on the management of fecal/anal incontinence during pregnancy and postpartum. Finally, her scholarly efforts impact patient care, as she has authored patient education sheets, online literature reviews, magazine articles, and a letter to the editor.
Ms. Hicks’ passion for research is also demonstrated in her work as a co-Investigator in a multisite double blinded randomized controlled trial (RCT), the results of which will be presented this fall. As co-PI, she designed a questionnaire study on bothersome urogynecologic issues that received over 350 responses; she presented the results of this survey at the October 2021 American Urogynecologic Society meeting. Ms. Hicks has proposed an RCT to study aqueous versus lidocaine for transurethral procedures and has received a grant through the Society of Urologic Nurses and Associates to complete this trial, with nearly 70 investigational urodynamic tests performed to this point. She is passionately dedicated to advancing the care of women with urogynecologic disorders and is considered a national leader in her field.
In the words of her colleagues: Ms. Hicks “epitomizes an APP dedicated to advancing our scientific knowledge through impactful research.” She is “a shining star in urogynecology, actively [identifying] gaps in knowledge and literature in order to educate and empower patients and colleagues to improve patient experience and outcomes.”
Outstanding APP in Teaching
The award for Outstanding APP in Teaching celebrates an Advanced Practice Provider who is respectful, professional, challenging, and a supportive communicator with learners, particularly in precepting APP students, providing clinical lectures, and onboarding new APP colleagues. The recipient must practice and teach evidence-based medicine.
Denise K. Link, M.P.A.S., PA-C
Nephrology, Department of Internal Medicine
Denise Link has been in ambulatory clinical practice in the Department of Internal Medicine’s Division of Nephrology since 2007. Ms. Link specializes in the management of chronic kidney disease, resistant hypertension, and utilization of various dialysis modalities. She has a passion for education, and because of her pedagogical expertise, Ms. Link has been invited to serve on the American Society of Nephrology’s clinical practice committee. She also is frequently invited to provide lectures at national conferences on clinical nephrology topics. She is an outstanding educator and speaker who cites current and emerging literature to support her educational points. Ms. Link’s students and junior colleagues have noted that she “was an integral part of my learning and education as an APP.” She routinely volunteers to support shadowing, student rotations, and onboarding of new APPs within her own service and in collaborating disciplines of medicine and surgery.
Ms. Link is a highly effective communicator in clinical practice as well; she teaches her patients with equal enthusiasm and consistently receives comments on “how thorough, thoughtful, compassionate, and respectful she is as a provider,” her nominators wrote. Her professionalism and effective partnership with patients are above reproach and a model to her colleagues.
In the words of her colleagues: Ms. Link is “an exceptional and extraordinary teacher. She has a gift for communicating not just in the classroom or conference room, but one on one with trainees, providers, and patients.”
Outstanding APP in Leadership
The award for Outstanding APP in Leadership celebrates a clinician with effective leadership attitudes – someone who is motivating, creative, and positive. The recipient must utilize skilled communication and serve on a board or committee within or outside of UT Southwestern.
Carol Bjorkman, M.S., APRN, FNP-C
Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine
Carol Bjorkman has been in clinical practice at UT Southwestern’s Heart Transplant Clinic since 2015, where she serves as a leader in the cardiology arena, particularly in quality improvement. She led the Heart Transplant 2019-2020 QAPI (Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement) project and currently leads the 2021 QAPI project for her service as well, called Determining Compliance with Pentamidine Treatments for PJP Prophylaxis in Heart Transplant Recipients.
Ms. Bjorkman is also a leader in education. She has served on the APP Lecture Series committee at UT Southwestern and is the current committee Chair. She recently presented at an international conference the findings from the UT Southwestern heart transplant team on The Moderate Association of Coronary Artery Calcium and Cardiac Allograft Vasculopathy in Heart Transplant Recipients on Non-gated CT. Her passion for advancing the knowledge and practice of others is also demonstrated through her service as a 2020 Pilot tester for the American Association of Heart Failure Nurses, reviewing educational activities presented to the group’s membership.
Her leadership style is also noteworthy; she exhibits genuine, individualized care for her colleagues and has served as a mentor in the UT Southwestern APP Mentorship program for the past two years. Her colleagues praise her desire for advancing her own knowledge, ongoing professional growth, excellence in patient care, and professionalism.
In the words of her colleagues: Ms. Bjorkman’s colleagues “look to her for guidance on a daily basis, and she leads by example. Her desire for continued knowledge and professional growth, patient care, and professionalism are certainly qualities to be emulated.”
Outstanding APP in Community Service
The award for Outstanding APP in Community Service celebrates a clinician with active service in the community outside of their UT Southwestern employment whose service helps a specific, local population; reduces health disparities; and makes a lasting, meaningful impact. The recipient must organize and/or lead community engagement activities.
Elizabeth “Liz” Heyne, PA-C, Psy.D.
Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine, Department of Pediatrics
Liz Heyne, who has over four decades of experience as a Pediatric Advanced Practice Provider, displays a commitment to newborn safety and family wellness that is omnipresent. What is most noteworthy about her career is her passion for and commitment to expanding access to health care and promoting healthy families. Ms. Heyne was instrumental in the development of the Low Birth Weight Clinic (now known as the THRIVE Program) at Children’s Medical Center, which she has collaboratively led for the past 40 years. Despite many challenges, she has ensured that underserved populations continue to have access to the health care.
Ms. Heyne’s community service extends outside of her clinical department. She has partnered with Catholic Charities of Dallas to develop a foster home program for needy mothers and low birth weight infants, and in the 1980s, she set up the first car seat loan program of its kind in Dallas. Ms. Heyne co-created The Low Birth Weight Development Center in South Dallas and provides family-centered, community-oriented support services such as parent mental health classes. She contributes to research on the lifelong impact of low infant birth weight on health and wellness. Another area of service in the community is Ms. Heyne’s work as an instructor for undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Dallas in the TEEN STAR Post-Partum program that is an outreach program for at-risk eighth-graders in Oak Cliff and Irving.
Ms. Heyne has been recognized for her community engagement work on a national level; she was one of six national finalists in 2019 for the Schwartz Center’s prestigious Compassionate Caregiver Award.
From a colleague’s perspective: “Liz has been a tireless provider and passionate advocate for tiny patients and their families, and her incredible impact is not only felt by the patients and families she serves but by all those who work alongside her.”