January

Kimberly Rowzee
Kimberly Rowzee
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UMMC nurse educator earns coveted leadership training slot

Published on Monday, January 13, 2014

By: Gary Pettus, gpettus@umc.edu

Kimberly Rowzee, a nurse educator at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, has won acceptance to an exclusive, year-long development program that cultivates the nursing profession and advances the care of women and newborns.

Rowzee, who works at UMMC’s Wiser Hospital for Women and Infants, was one of 42 candidates considered for the Emerging Leaders Program run by the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN). From that nationwide pool, she was one of only 10 chosen.

The program accepts applicants based on their skills, experience and enthusiasm for women’s health and perinatal nursing, which embraces late-term pregnancy to early-newborn care.

A UMMC employee for almost 11 years, Rowzee coordinates programs for pregnant women and their families and supervises the breast-feeding program at Wiser. An obstetrics and gynecological nurse for 18 years, she was also a part-time UMMC faculty member in the School of Nursing in the fall.

“This is really an honor,” said Rowzee of Brandon, “and a really good opportunity to promote the health of women and newborns in the state of Mississippi.”

Designed to recruit future AWHONN leaders and enhance leadership and business skills among a diverse group of nurses, the training program begins for Rowzee with a two-day trip to Washington, D.C., that features legislative visits on Capitol Hill.

Overseen by a personal mentor, Rowzee will participate throughout the year in webinars, develop a leadership project, serve on an AWHONN committee or task force, and attend the 2014 AWHONN Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C., as well as the 2014 Annual AWHONN Convention in Orlando, Fla.

A Meridian native, Rowzee earned her undergraduate degree at Mississippi University for Women in Columbus and her master’s at UMMC’s School of Nursing.

“I’m interested in nursing research and advancing my degree in nursing,” Rowzee said. “But for me, mostly, it’s about being a change agent for improving health care in Mississippi.

“This is a chance to get experience and give back.”