SON Home | UW Home | MyUW | UW Bothell | UW Tacoma | HealthLinks | Contact the School | Search SON | Internal "Cutting Edge" NP Zimmer Receives Award at ACNP National Summit Washington, DC, Feb. 19, 2002 - The American College of Nurse Practitioners (ACNP) is pleased to announce that the 2002 Sharp Cutting Edge award, recognizing efforts "above and beyond the call of duty" on behalf of the nurse practitioner community, has been awarded to Phyllis Arn Zimmer, ARNP, MN, FNP, FAAN, a dedicated voice for nurse practitioners. The Sharp Cutting Edge award was presented to Zimmer at ACNP's 2002 National Nurse Practitioner Summit at the Hyatt Regency in Washington, DC, on February 3, 2002. ACNP Past-President Carolyn Montoya, MSN, PNP presented the award to Zimmer at ACNP's annual Recognition Luncheon. Zimmer is an entrepreneur, innovator, educator, clinician, researcher and author whose tireless dedication to the nurse practitioner profession has made her well known in the nurse practitioner community. Among her many activities, Zimmer teaches in the Family Nurse Practitioner Program at the University of Washington School of Nursing, Seattle, Washington. She is a partner in FnP Associates, a private nurse practitioner-owned business that provides meeting planning services to ACNP and consultation services and educational programs to the Seattle/King County Health Department and NP educational programs. She also serves as the Director of Marketing and Corporate Relations for ACNP. Ms. Zimmer has served as president of the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF), and was a founding member, in 1992, of ARNPs UNITED, the Washington State nurse practitioner association. Zimmer has received numerous awards from many nursing organizations for her tireless commitment and dedication to the profession. She received the "Outstanding Nurse Practitioner Educator Award," from the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF) in 1990 in recognition of her leadership in the development of national curriculum guidelines for NP education; the "Mover and Shaker" Award from ARNPs United in 1992; and the Distinguished Alumna Award from the University of Rochester School of Nursing in 1995. Zimmer was a Fellow in the Primary Care Policy Fellowship, U.S. Public Health Service, Dept. of Health & Human Services in 1996. In 1997, in recognition of her contributions to the profession, she was inducted as a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing. Zimmer's dedication to ACNP has also significantly contributed to the advancement of the nurse practitioner profession. She chaired the first National Nurse Practitioner Summit in 1993 that led to the formation of ACNP in 1995. Zimmer was a founding member of the College in 1995 and served as ACNP's second president for two terms, in 1996 and 1997. During her tenure, ACNP achieved financial stability, initiated its own office, established the corporate advisory board, began the organization's newsletter, endorsed NP World News as the association's news magazine, and built the membership to include 15 state affiliates and 6 national organization affiliates. Since 1998, she has served as Director of Marketing and Corporate Relations for ACNP, and the College has benefited from her expertise in the business world through marketing the skills of NPs to industry. Her business, FnP Associates, has been instrumental in implementing ACNP's National Clinical Symposium as a premier clinical meeting. Recipients of the Sharp Cutting Edge Award demonstrate effective efforts "above and beyond the call of duty" on behalf of the nurse practitioner community. The award was initiated in 1996 in honor of Nancy J. Sharp, MSN, RN, an exemplar in the world of organizational leadership for more than two decades. As the first Executive Vice President of the American College of Nurse Practitioners she personified a positive force for NPs, both politically and professionally. The recipients of the Sharp Cutting Edge Award have, like Nancy, demonstrated exemplary service to improve the image and visibility of the nurse practitioner profession. The American College of Nurse Practitioners (ANCP) provides political and professional advocacy for the nurse practitioner profession. Located in Washington, D.C., ACNP is committed to keeping NPs current on legislative, regulatory and clinical practice issues. Return to News and Events   Copyright © 2008 University of Washington 1959 NE Pacific Street, Seattle, Washington 98195