Villanova Nursing’s Dr. Suzanne Smeltzer to receive writing award

Villanova, PA, March 25, 2008 — Villanova University College of Nursing’s Suzanne C. Smeltzer, Ed.D., R.N., FAAN, professor and director of nursing research, has been selected for the Best of JOGNN (Journal of Obstetric, Gynecology and Neonatal Nursing) Award for her paper Pregnancy in Women with Physical Disabilities. She will be officially recognized at the 2008 Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses Convention in June in Los Angeles. She has been similarly honored in the past, receiving the Journal of Neuroscience Nursing Writing Excellence Award in 2003.

Dr. Smeltzer’s paper, published in JOGNN’s January/February 2007 issue, focused on the entire course of pregnancy from preconception to postpartum issues of women with disabilities and approaches to ensure that women with disabilities have successful reproductive experiences. She is being honored due to her paper’s originality, scholarliness and potential to significantly affect the care of women and infants, as well as the interdisciplinary importance of the work.

Dr. Smeltzer is committed to making health promotion practices and services accessible and acceptable for those who are physically challenged. She is an internationally known scholar, researcher, educator and author, who has directed the College’s Health Promotion for Women with Disabilities Project funded by a grant from the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation. Much of Dr. Smeltzer’s research has addressed health issues of people with multiple sclerosis and other disabilities.