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The College of Nursing and Health Care Professions, along with its faculty members and students, have continued to make the news with an array of awards and accomplishments. Read through our list of highlights below.
GCU was ranked by Niche.com has having the top 10 best college for nursing in America for 2025.1
1 Retrieved from Niche.com, Grand Canyon University Rankings in October 2024.
2 Retrieved from ABC 15 Arizona, Grand Canyon University Nurses Training with Opioid Addicts in June 2018.
Read more about the nursing and healthcare professional accolades here and on GCU news.
John Catania, a student at Grand Canyon University has been nominated for a DAISY Award, a national honor that recognizes extraordinary nurses. He is currently pursuing his master’s to become an acute care nurse practitioner. Catania knew he had found his passion and his purpose after working in the ICU, helping those in need.
Tess Ventura was named Advanced Practice Registered Nurse of the Year by the I-Help Foundation while earning her Doctor of Nursing Practice here at GCU. She said she shares this award with all those who helped her get to where she is today, including fellow nurses, leaders and GCU.
Deborah Mathias MSN, RN, while earning her Doctor of Nursing Practice here at GCU, wrote about “Improving Patient Safety by Easing Caregiver Burden.” Her paper was published in Nursing 2019, the peer reviewed journal of clinical excellence. She explains “the psychological impact of providing end-of-life care for a loved one and offers tools to assess and alleviate caregiver burden.” The College of Nursing and Health Care Professions (CONHCP) is proud of Mathias and her effort to give insight to those caring for patients and loved ones.
Jean Cheek, a forensic nurse examiner at Virginia Commonwealth University Health System has been nominated for a Magnet Excellence in Clinical Research award. She is currently pursuing her Doctor of Nursing Practice degree at GCU. Cheek, credits GCU with the skills needed to be a better nurse, leading her toward this honorary nomination.
Nowman Karram, an online GCU nursing student, won the DAISY (Diseases Attacking the Immune System) Award. This award is bestowed on nurses who help create an environment of compassion and kindness within patient care. Karram hopes to move in to research or nursing education upon his graduation from GCU’s MSN-Ed program.
Grand Canyon University nursing faculty are training students to help end the opioid abuse crisis.2
Read more about what our faculty has been recognized for.
Dr. Lisa Smith, Dean & Professor for the College of Nursing and Health Care Professions at GCU, was nominated for the 2019 March of Dimes Nurse of the Year awards ceremony and was further nominated in the top three finalists.
Standing for “Diseases Attacking the Immune System,” the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nursing Faculty honors nursing faculty whose actions exemplify GCU’s mission to prepare nurses to become global contributors, innovative thinkers, effective communicators, patient advocates and transformative leaders. The award is presented by the DAISY Foundation, which was formed in late 1999 by the family of J. Patrick Barnes to honor the nurses who cared for him during his stay in the hospital.
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