Sharon Wilkerson, PhD, RN, CNE, has been recognized with the Florence Nightingale Award by the International Association of Who's Who

    BRYAN, TX, June 24, 2020 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Throughout her long and varied career, Dr. Sharon Wilkerson has been committed to providing exceptional patient services and is recognized as a pioneer in nursing education for her exceptional role as Founding Dean of the Texas A&M College of Nursing. Her work is truly iconic and has been recognized as the highest award of Professional Distinction and Top Tier of Excellence Lifetime Achievement by Oxford Who's Who.

Dr. Wilkerson's impressive career began when she excelled in her educational endeavors, gaining her three-year diploma from Hermann Hospital School of Nursing in Houston. The renowned professional then went on to gain a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of Houston and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Hawaii. To build upon this, the nursing specialist achieved her Master of Science in nursing, specializing in pediatrics and nursing education, from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Ph.D. in nursing of families from Wayne State University in Detroit. Furthering this, Dr. Wilkerson completed a post-doctoral clinical nurse scholar fellowship with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation at the University of Rochester, demonstrating her phenomenal dedication to the field.

During her outstanding career, Dr. Wilkerson has served in various prestigious roles, including her position as director of doctoral program development and association professor at the Purdue University School of Nursing. She has also worked with Indiana University and St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Pontiac - providing expertise and exceptional educational services.

Dr. Wilkerson has also served as a staff nurse for a variety of patients, with a particular specialty in pediatric care. Previously, she has held the position of clinical nurse for children with respiratory problems and a nurse researcher for several years, conducting evidence-based research on nursing care. Her current research efforts involve premature infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Studies include implementation of kangaroo care with premature infants, development care in the NICU, parenting skills with premature infants and, most recently, hearing development in the premature infant.

Dr. Wilkerson's pinnacle occupation, however, is her impressive role as the Founding Dean of the Texas A&M College of Nursing which she built from the ground up - transforming the establishment from an inaugural class of 44 baccalaureate nursing students in 2008 to 437 BSN students across four locations. Following this exceptional growth, the college was recently named a Center of Excellence by the National League of Nursing, demonstrating the commitment and dedication shown by Dr. Wilkerson. The acclaimed professional was also an associate professor at the Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi College of Nursing and Health Sciences, which has collaborated with the Texas A&M Health Science Center to provide an accelerated nursing program for students in the Bryan-College Station area.

These remarkable achievements have not gone unnoticed and Dr. Wilkinson has been awarded the Texas A&M University Distinguished Achievement Award for Administration in 2016, the Texas A&M University Fish Camp Namesake in 2015, the Alpha Chapter Outstanding Educator Award, the Outstanding Sophomore Teacher from Purdue University School of Nursing, the Delta Omicron Chapter Excellence in Leadership Award and the Outstanding Freshman Teacher Award from Purdue University. Additionally, Dr. Wilkerson was a Murphy Teaching Award Nominee and is a fellow at the Academy of Nurse Education, highlighting her dedication the field.

Having served as a nurse for over five decades, Dr. Wilkerson has recently retired, but intends to continue on professionally through public speaking, whilst also remaining actively involved in nursing and healthcare.

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