It is my distinct honor to nominate Robin Austin PhD, DNP, DC, RN-BC, FAMIA for the DAISY Award: Scholarship in Practice. Dr. Austin exemplifies faculty who understand and recognize the various kinds of knowledge used in practice and help students to understand, appreciate, and articulate the tacit knowledge in skilled nursing practice. She is a problem solver who seeks innovative solutions with a positive and practical spirit that resonates with students and faculty alike. During a critical year of health care challenges for nursing educators and their students, Dr. Austin has worked to bridge the gap between theory and practice, and she became the lead faculty for the School of Nursing on an Interprofessional Collaborative Team. The team recently launched an interprofessional education course "COVID-19 Vaccine and Pandemic Planning" for all health science students (i.e. nursing, pharmacy, medical, dental, and public health students) and currently has 266 students enrolled across all health science programs and three UMN campuses. This course is the first of its kind across the Big 10 Alliance schools, has been recognized as meeting the Interprofessional Education (IPE) competencies, and is listed as a 1Health workforce approved co-curricular activity. This work is currently being expanded to a nationally accredited continuing education course for health professionals. Her interprofessional and creative teaching efforts during a pandemic helps students to see practice in everything they do within the context of a health care crisis.
In her population health, Dr. Austin recently received a COVID-19 Seed grant through the Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (CTSI) to explore community resilience and health challenges and needs during COVID-19. This work has been presented at several national conferences such as the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) Advancing Interoperability: Social Determinants of Health Workshop. Preliminary results show strengths prevail in communities during COVID-19, a majority of the health challenges and needs in areas related to mental health and social isolation.
In recognition of her interprofessional teaching and practice, Dr. Austin was recently elected to the Fellow National Academies of Practice (FNAP), Nursing. This award is in recognition of distinguished practitioners and scholars dedicated to supporting affordable, accessible, coordinated quality healthcare for all. Dr. Austin is most deserving of this award as an exceptional example of faculty who bridge the gap between theory and practice.