The Washington State Nurses Association’s (WSNA) recently announced that Louise Kaplan, PhD, MN, ARNP will receive the WSNA’s highest recognition honor, induction into the WSNA Hall of Fame, at an event to be held on March 18, 2010. Louise will receive the honor for her many significant contributions to advancing autonomous advanced nursing practice as well as her many other significant achievements benefiting the entire nursing profession.

WSNA established the biennial WSNA Hall of Fame awards in 1996 to recognize outstanding registered nurses in Washington state, living or deceased, who have made significant lifetime accomplishments to the nursing profession and WSNA. To be honored with this award, inductees must have demonstrated excellence in the areas of patient care, leadership, education, public service, nurse advocacy, heroism, patient advocacy, or clinical practice, and for achievements that have affected the health and/or social history of Washington state and that have added value to nursing beyond the inductee’s lifetime.

Louise will be recognized for her many leadership roles in WSNA, including president of her local district, WSNA vice president, board member, Chair of the WSNA-PAC, a two year term as WSNA president and nearly a decade as a member of the Legislative and Health Policy Council. Louise has been an invaluable resource using both her practice and her policy expertise to further WSNA’s legislative agendas and in support of the profession's priority legislation. Her contributions include analyzing bills, testifying on behalf of WSNA, serving as the WSNA liaison to the state's Advanced Practice Coalition, and serving as WSNA’s representative to select state advisory committees.

Several of Louise's contributions stand out as having a major life-long impact on professional nursing and WSNA. One example is that Louise was responsible for starting Nurse Legislative Day in the early 1980s. This statewide event has grown from 150 participants to more than 700 each year. Louise and her research colleague, Marie-Annette Brown, have spent the last eight years conducting important research on Washington's Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioners (ARNPs) with a special focus on prescribing controlled substances.

In 2005, Louise testified on a bill on behalf of ARNPs by using their research to support elimination of a restrictive requirement for joint practice agreement with a physician to prescribe most federally controlled drugs. Thanks to her research and excellent testimony, the bill successfully passed the Legislature, providing ARNPs with fully autonomous practice. This intersection between research, service and practice exemplifies the ideal way in which nursing research can make a difference to the profession.

The WSNA Hall of Fame Awards Reception will be held in Seattle on March 18, 2010 from 5:30-8:30 p.m. at Salty's on Alki, 1936 Harbor Ave. SW, Seattle WA. Others to be honored along with Louise are: Mary Bartholet, MS, RN; Anna Mae Erickson, RN; Verna Hill, MN, RN; Margaret Ouchi, MN, RN and Thelma Peges, MN, RN. The event will include a sit-down dinner and cash bar. Registration forms are available in the Winter issue of the Washington Nurse or by calling WSNA at 206.575.7979 or from the WSNA website.