Tennessee Nurse-Midwife Honored With Esteemed Award

Main Category: Nursing / Midwifery
Article Date: 30 Jun 2009 - 0:00 PDT

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Frances E. Likis, DrPH, NP, CNM, of Nashville, TN, received the 2009 Kitty Ernst Award, one of the most prestigious honors awarded by the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM), during ACNM's 54th Annual Meeting & Exposition in Seattle, WA.

"Francie's energy and enthusiasm are clearly evident in her day-to-day work. In just nine years, her contributions to midwifery have been noted and applauded by her peers, including her work on an award‐winning text, Women's Gynecologic Health, and authorship of several journal articles and book chapters. She personifies the spirit and drive of a midwife. In addition to her educational and research efforts, Francie is also noted as a dynamic speaker among women's health care professionals," said ACNM President Melissa Avery, PhD, CNM, FACNM, FAAN. "She demonstrates the vision, leadership, and creativity of a Kitty award recipient."

After graduating from the Frontier School of Midwifery and Family Nursing (FSMFN) in Hyden, KY in 2000, Likis practiced full‐scope midwifery in a birth center and returned to FSMFN as a faculty member in women's health. Within just two short years, she became the Women's Health Course Coordinator for FSMFN, where she was later Coordinator of Graduate Education. Likis currently serves as the Editor‐in‐Chief of the Journal of Midwifery and Women's Health (JMWH), and the Associate Director of Graduate Studies for the Institute for Medicine and Public Health at Vanderbilt University Medicl Center. She has been recognized and honored many times throughout her career, including Top 100 Leader award from Vanderbilt University School of Nursing, Student Choice Award for Teaching Excellence from FSMFN, and the Royster Fellowship at the University of North Carolina. In addition to her work as a member of the JMWH Editorial Board since 2002, her service to ACNM includes the past roles of Chair of the Subcommittee on Structure for the Work Group on Bylaws Revision, Vice‐Chair of the Tennessee Chapter, and member of the 50th Anniversary Ad Hoc Committee. Likis received her bachelor's and master's degrees from Vanderbilt University, and her doctorate in public health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is a certified nurse‐midwife, family nurse practitioner, and women's health nurse practitioner.

The Kitty Ernst Award, more affectionately known as the "Young Whippersnapper Award," is named after ACNM's fourth and youngest President, who is also one of its most dynamic living legends. The Kitty Ernst award was established in 1998 to honor a midwife who has been certified for less than 10 years and has demonsrated innovative, creative endeavors in clinical practice, education, administration, or research relating to midwifery and women's health.

Source
American College of Nurse-Midwives