Patricia A. Poirier, of Berry, Mass., recipient of the Award for Academic Excellence in nursing (PhD Program). Poirier, who attained the highest grade point average 3.94 of all 2005 graduates of the PhD in Nursing Program, is deserving of the Academic Excellence in Nursing Award for that and many other accomplishments. Poirier has been a nurse for 30 years. She began her nursing career as a staff nurse, progressed to a clinical instructor role for several years as she earned baccalaureate and master’s degrees in nursing, and returned to direct nursing practice in radiation oncology after she earned her master’s degree.

Since 1991, she has been in a leadership role as a nurse manager and clinical nurse specialist in radiation oncology. Since that time, she has also held leadership positions in the Central Massachusetts Chapter of the Oncology Nursing Society. She writes a regular column on health policy in the chapter newsletter, and for the past four years she has served as the health policy liaison from Massachusetts to the Oncology Nursing Society. In addition, she served on the American Cancer Society Board of Directors for 15 years.

Poirier decided to pursue a doctoral degree in nursing, with a concentration in health policy, as she came to understand the need for the multidisciplinary knowledge required for influencing the care of patients with cancer beyond direct nursing practice. Her doctoral studies have prepared her to effect changes in health policies at the local, state, and federal levels.

Poirier has been honored by election to Sigma Theta Tau International, the nursing honorary society, and appointment as a fellow of the Oncology Nursing Society leadership Development Institute. The UMass Boston Award for Excellence in Nursing is an acknowledgement of her substantial contribution to nursing knowledge through her dissertation research. She is the sister of Rose Partridge of Mexico and Florida.