Orlando, FL – The National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists (NACNS) today presented its prestigious Brenda Lyon Leadership Award to Mary Fran Tracy, PhD, RN, CCNS, FAAN, a critical care Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) at the University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview and Adjunct Clinical Professor at the University of Minnesota School of Nursing in Minneapolis. The Award recognizes extraordinary leadership in service to NACNS. It is named for Brenda Lyon, a founding member and the second president of NACNS, and was presented at NACNS’ Annual Conference.
A member of NACNS since 1999, Tracy was a co-founder and Charter President of the Minnesota Affiliate of NACNS. She has served on the NACNS Practice Committee, and the Conference Abstract Review Panel. Tracy was a member of the task force that wrote the NACNS response to the Institute of Medicine’s groundbreaking report, The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health and was a part of the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN) Workgroup that wrote the AACN Scope and Practice Standards for the Acute and Critical Care CNS. Tracy currently serves on the NACNS Research Committee.
“Dr. Tracy’s numerous contributions to improving nursing and patient care, through her research, as a CNS and in service to NACNS and our members are truly inspirational,” said NACNS 2014 President Les Rodriguez, MSN, MPH, RN, ACNS-BC, APRN. “Her dedication to helping establish NACNS as the voice of the CNS and increasing awareness not only of the association but of the importance of the CNS in improving health care is exemplary. We are delighted to present her with this prestigious award.”
Tracy holds a PhD in Nursing and a master’s degree in Medical-Surgical Nursing from the University of Minnesota. She earned her BSN at the University of Iowa.