Julie Meaux, a professor and undergraduate program coordinator of the School of Nursing at the University of Central Arkansas, received the 2022 Outstanding Nurse Educator Award.
“It was a great honor to be nominated. There are a lot of talented nurse educators in Arkansas who work tirelessly to educate the future nursing workforce. To be selected as the Outstanding Nursing Educator for 2022 was definitely a career highlight,” Meaux said.
Meaux has been on the faculty at UCA since January 1994. The nursing professor completed her undergraduate degree in nursing from the University of Southwestern Louisiana in 1981. She then went on to get her master’s degree in nursing from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in 1993. She holds a doctorate in Nursing from UAMS in 2001.
Before moving to Arkansas in 1992, Meaux was a newborn intensive care nurse for 11 years.
“When I finished my master’s degree with a focus on nursing education, I learned of an opening at UCA for someone with pediatric experience. I loved acute care nursing, but at that time my family needed me to have a regular schedule and I was ready for new challenges. Once I started teaching I embraced the role of the nurse educator and have been at UCA ever since,” Meaux said.
The Outstanding Nurse Educator Award is not the first award Meaux has earned. Several years ago, she was inducted as a Distinguished Scholar and Fellow in the National Academies of Practice after she conducted research that focused on adolescents with chronic conditions and their transition to self-management.
“The National Academies of Practice recognizes educators, researchers and policy makers who work interprofessionally and make significant contributions to the profession,” Meaux said.
To Meaux, it is important that she teaches her students that there are opportunities for nurses across the healthcare system in both acute and community settings.
“Very few people graduate from college and stay in the exact same job until retirement. I want students to recognize that there will always be opportunities for them in nursing. I believe the nurses graduating today will have a big impact on healthcare in the future,” Meaux said.
UCA nursing has expanded enrollment in the past few years and Meaux appreciates the support from UCA Administration during these times.
“I work with a great team of nursing educators at UCA who are focused on student success. This year we will admit the largest class since I started at UCA in 1994. UCA has a long history of producing strong nurses and I am honored to be a part of that history,” Meaux said.