Meghan Ferrara, RN, finishing her MS in Nursing: Health Policy this Fall, has been announced as the 2017 winner of the Ann Klobas Outstanding Health Policy Paper Award.  Her paper, titled Violence Against American Indian and Alaska Native Women: Mobilizing a Critical Public Areanas Perspective, evidenced thought and concern in addressing policy from a nursing perspective.

The Ann Klobas Outstanding Health Policy Paper Award (formerly the Annual UCSF School of Nursing Award for Outstanding Policy Paper) is in it’s 18th year. The founding of this award, and the establishment of a Health Policy major in the School of Nursing, reflect the growing recognition of the importance of a nursing perspective in developing evidence-based, socially relevant health policies for diverse and continually evolving populations.  Nurses, by virtue of their intimate perspective and intensive contact with patients and families, are especially able to anticipate and articulate the many ways in which health policies influence the lives of individuals, families and communities.

Ann Klobas received her MS in Nursing from UCSF in 1988.  Ms. Klobas was a nurse practitioner with a clinical background in geriatrics and veterans' health issues.  She began the PhD health policy specialty program in 2006, working on a doctoral dissertation on "Quality of transition Care for Older Veterans Who use Multiple Health Care Providers". Due to illness, Ms. Klobas was forced to withdraw from the program and died peacefully April 9, 2011. This award recognizes her achievements and those of students who follow in her footsteps.

Around mid-March each year, UCSF MS or PhD students are encouraged to submit papers written within past year (up to 20 dbl-spaced pages not incl. refs) that address contemporary health policy issue.  Papers should be formatted in 12 point font or larger. Topic may be a clinical issue but the focus should be policy implications, including theoretical, financial, regulatory or legislative issues; award announced at the end of May.