Williams Honored by Great 100 Nurses Foundation
Anna Williams, UA Little Rock assistant professor of nursing, has been named a 2023 Honoree of The Great 100 Nurses Foundation.
The Great 100 Nurses Award recipients are chosen based on their exemplification of humanitarian values, their contributions to the nursing profession, and their mentoring of others. Williams and her fellow 2023 award winners were celebrated on Oct. 2 during a ceremony at Embassy Suites Hotel in Little Rock.
“I feel very honored to receive this award,” said Williams. “I received the nomination from a prior colleague/mentor of mine, and that meant a great deal to me.”
Williams has been a registered nurse for 10 years. She graduated with her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from Arkansas State University in 2013 and then from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences with her Master of Science in Nursing degree in 2019. Her nursing background is in women’s health, high-risk labor and delivery, and high-risk antepartum.
“Nursing wasn’t always my first choice,” Williams said. “I thought I wanted to be a physical therapist, but I went to shadow one and saw that I wouldn’t be with the patients as much as I wanted to be. That is why I chose nursing! I knew that I would get to spend time with patients caring for them in their time of need.”
Williams began her nursing education journey in 2018 as an adjunct clinical instructor, after which she became a full-time nursing instructor at UA Little Rock. She holds an NLN Certified Nurse Educator credential and teaches mental health and obstetrical nursing at UA Little Rock, as well as working heavily in the Center for Simulation Innovation.
“She is often the idea person behind many new learning activities and curriculum improvements, particularly in the area of simulation,” said Dr. Sloan Davidson, director of the School of Nursing. “She is an expert in simulation as a learning modality and is often appointed as the simulation lead for a course. She has the technological knowledge to run the equipment and also a background in simulation pedagogical knowledge that helped lead our Center for Simulation Innovation to win the prestigious INACSL Frontline Simulation Champion Excellence Award this year.”
Williams also serves as the chair of the School of Nursing Curriculum Committee and as the secretary of the College of Business, Health, and Human Services.
“Anna is a stand-out faculty member for our school,” Davidson said. “She works tirelessly to do the best job possible for our students and her colleagues.”
