She has been honored by her colleagues and students and received the School of Nursing Excellence in Teaching Award. National awards include “Achievement in Research” award from The National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties and the “Nurse Practitioner of the Year” from the American Nurses Association. To acknowledge her leadership contributions, Dr. Brown was also elected as a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing.

Over the past three decades Dr. Brown has successfully combined research, teaching and clinical practice and served as a leader in the nurse practitioner movement on local and national levels. She is a family nurse practitioner with a specialization in women's health. Dr. Brown practices at UWMC Women's Health Care Clinic providing primary care to women across the lifespan. Dr. Brown has authored over 70 research and clinically oriented publications, including 2 books. Dr. Brown has studied and worked clinically with patients and families facing the chronic and life threatening illness of HIV and cancer. She co-authored a book for family caregivers based on her research and her expertise as a Psychiatric and Mental Health Clinical Specialist. She also studied and cared for women with chronic, subsyndromal depression. Her research in this area demonstrated the effectiveness of a program of light, exercise and vitamins. She then co-authored a popular book "When Your Body Gets the Blues." This book was listed as one of the top 100 best books by the UW Bookstore. Numerous magazines and newspapers have featured stories about her work, and the LEVITY Program was showcased in a one-hour special on the national Public Broadcasting System (PBS). Dr. Brown gives Body Blues talks and workshops to health professionals and to the general public.

Dr. Brown has contributed important research data about advanced practice nurses, in particular pioneer NPs and novice NPs. She and her colleague Dr. Louise Kaplan are currently conducting a longitudinal study of the prescribing practices of Washington State NPs in relation to their use of schedule 2-4 medications. This is the 4th phase focusing on the adoption of the new law and challenges faced by NPs with full-prescriptive authority including controlled substances.

Dr. Brown has conducted multiple research projects about women’s issues. She studied women who had chronic problems with premenstrual syndrome. She included their partners to further understand the effect of PMS on family functioning. She has also conducted research on the effects of stress and support on the health of expectant fathers and mothers.

Dr. Brown has also spearheaded the development of the Doctor of Nursing Practice at the University of Washington. She led the UW School of Nursing Task Force that developed the proposal approved by graduate faculty, the State Board of Higher Education and the Board of Regents. She currently chairs the DNP Curriculum Coordinating Committee that has developed and implemented the program with involvement of the graduate faculty. Dr. Brown obtained a training grant from HRSA to implement the DNP program. She has worked on DNP issues at the national level with the National Organization of NP Faculties. Dr. Brown was a key contributor to the DNP Competencies Task Force and DNP Committee. Over the past 5 years she has given presentations nationally and locally about the DNP.

Specific Research Projects:

“Evaluation of the Doctor of Nursing Practice Program at the University of Washington.”

"Nurse Practitioner Experiences with Schedule II-IV Drugs: Follow-up After Full Prescriptive Authority Implemented"

“Nurse Practitioners’ Experiences with Prescribing or Providing Schedule II-IV Drugs: A Focus Group perspective."

“Does Prescribing with Indirect Physician Involvement Eliminate Barriers to Prescribing?”

“Barriers to NP Practice Due to the Lack of Schedule II-IV Prescriptive Authority.”

“Evaluation of the Impact of Autonomous Prescriptive Authority on Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist Practice in Washington State.”

“Enhancing Health Care Delivery in Southwest Washington Through the Utilization of Advanced Practice Nurses.”

"LEVITY: Light, Exercise and Vitamin Therapy Intervention for Women with Subsyndromal Symptomatic Depression"

"Tapping the Wisdom of Pioneer Nurse Practitioners"

"The Experience of Novice Nurse Practitioners"

“HIV Symptoms, Engagement, Adherence and Quality of Life"

"Group Intervention to Support Rural and Home Bound Caregivers of Persons with AIDS and Advanced Cancer"

"The Experience of Caring for a Family Member with AIDS"

"Working with AIDS: Job Stress, Support & Satisfaction in Professional Caregivers"

"Home Based Care for Persons With AIDS: Experiences of Family Caregivers"

"Advanced Nursing Practice in Washington State: A Statewide Survey"

"Work and Family Roles of Women: Sources of Stress and Coping Strategies"

"Characteristics of Women Seeking Medical Care for Perimenstrual Distress"

"Support, Stress and Health at Two Phases of the Menstrual Cycle: A Study of Individual & Family Functioning"

Doctoral Dissertation: "Social Support and Symptomatology: A Study of First-Time Expectant Parents"