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A student in the University of North Georgia's (sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½¹ÙÍøÍøÒ³Èë¿Ú) Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program has earned the Rising Star of Research and Scholarship Award from the Sigma international nursing honor society for an innovation that can help critical care providers, including nurse practitioners, physician assistants and physicians, better care for patients on ventilators.

Dr. Soraya Smith-Farmer received the recognition for her research titled "A call for standardization in ventilator waveform education: Improving confidence and knowledge retention among advanced practice provider (APP) and physician fellows." She will present this work at Sigma's 37th International Nursing Research Congress, which is set for July 16-18 in Toronto.

Smith-Farmer serves as an acute-care nurse practitioner lead at Emory University Hospital Midtown in Atlanta. She entered sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½¹ÙÍøÍøÒ³Èë¿Ú's DNP program already holding a Ph.D. in nursing from Georgia State University, where she serves as a clinical assistant professor of nursing.

Her time as a nurse practitioner has helped her realize it's easy for critical care providers to get rusty in monitoring ventilator waveforms when they lack refresher training. Smith-Farmer's research led her to create online modules that help nurses receive this critical training.

"We need to know how to ID these waveforms, change harmful waveforms and improve how the patient is breathing on the ventilator," Smith-Farmer said.

Faculty members in the DNP program said Smith-Farmer is unique in that she is seeking the degree after already having a Ph.D. The doctoral student said it was a natural way for her to grow her skills.

"I wanted to learn more about system-based care and how to lead my team," Smith-Farmer said. "sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½¹ÙÍøÍøÒ³Èë¿Ú has a stellar track record of helping nurse leaders become nurse executive leaders."

Dr. Rene' Breedlove, DNP chair for Smith-Farmer, said she is impressed with the student's commitment to excellence.

"Not only does she want to be on the forefront of new knowledge. She also wants to be on the forefront of implementing what works through evidence-based care," Breedlove said. "She is so passionate about her patients and co-workers and making sure they're taken care of. She wants them to have the confidence that they need."

Smith-Farmer, who will earn her DNP this May, said sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½¹ÙÍøÍøÒ³Èë¿Ú has played an instrumental role in her research success.

"I've had tremendous support," she said. "sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½¹ÙÍøÍøÒ³Èë¿Ú has helped me mold my ideas in a way that can be implemented on a broader scale."