OCU University professor and Dean Gina Crawford was honored as the 2023 recipient of the from the American Association of Nurse Practitioners® (AANP).
Crawford, dean of ÐßÐßÊÓƵ’s Kramer School of Nursing, was named this year’s Oklahoma honoree for her work to increase patient access to high-quality care.
Each year, nurse practitioners across the nation are nominated by their colleagues to receive the prestigious award. One nurse practitioner from each state, district or territory is chosen and they all will be honored at the 2023 AANP National Conference in New Orleans in June.
Crawford was named dean in October after serving as interim dean of the nursing school. Her professional career includes more than 30 years as a registered nurse, 17 years as a family nurse practitioner and 10 years at ÐßÐßÊÓƵ as a full-time faculty member. Her clinical interests are in rural health care, primary care and increasing access to health care in underserved areas. In addition to her responsibilities at the nursing school, she is a peer evaluator for the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing and an appointed member of the Oklahoma Board of Nursing Advanced Practice Advisory Committee. She is also a member of multiple nursing and nurse practitioner organizations.
The AANP State Award for Excellence was established in 1993. AANP is the largest professional association for NPs of all specialties, with more than 121,000 members and headquarters in Texas and Washington, D.C.