Rosemont, Ill. (AANA)–The American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology (AANA) presented Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) Rachel Davis, DNP, CRNA, with the Didactic Instructor of the Year Award during its 2022 Annual Congress, August 12-16, in Chicago.
The Didactic Instructor of the Year Award, established in 1991, is presented to an individual who has made significant contributions to the education of student registered nurse anesthetists in the classroom. The Award recognizes the individual’s commitment to the profession of nurse anesthesia and to the advancement of educational standards that further the art and science of anesthesiology and result in high-quality patient care.
Davis is an associate professor and the program director for the Doctorate of Nurse Anesthesia Practice program a Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.
“This award means so much to me. I am honored to be recognized for my commitment to being the best educator I can,” Davis stated.
According to her nomination, Davis is “a gifted educator. She embraced her role as an educator with full commitment…She consistently demonstrates an active interest in the education of our nurse anesthesia students, as well as other learners rotating on the anesthesia service. She has the gifted ability to present complex topics in a way that is easy for learners to understand yet conveys the appropriate depth and breadth for the topic at hand.“
Students praised Davis for spending “countless hours creating an educational framework that was well organized and allowed her students to immediately apply knowledge and skills to real-world situations. Because of her efforts, I feel well equipped to provide anesthesia as a new graduate.”
On Baylor’s faculty, since she graduated from its nurse anesthesia program in 2008, Davis has received five teaching awards as an educator in its Doctorate in Nursing Practice program as well as a recipient of the Fulbright and Jaworski LLP Faculty Excellence Award in the category of “Teaching and Evaluation.
Davis received her Doctor of Nursing Practice degree and her Master of Science in Nurse Anesthesia degree from Baylor College of Medicine. She earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Radford University in Radford, Virginia.