Elaine Larson, RN, PhD, FAAN, FIDSA, FSHEA, FAPIC, Senior Scholar-in-Residence at The New York Academy of Medicine, has received the 2022 Elizabeth Hurlock Beckman Award, which recognizes professors who have inspired their former students to make a difference in their communities. The Elizabeth Hurlock Beckman Award Trust was established in 2008 under the will of Gail McKnight Beckman in memory of her mother, Elizabeth Hurlock Beckman, PhD. Wells Fargo Bank, NA, serves as the Trustee. Beckman was an educator, a renowned author, and a pioneer in the field of psychology.
Dr. Larson is the Anna C. Maxwell Professor of Nursing Research Emerita and Special Lecturer at the Columbia School of Nursing and Professor of Epidemiology Emerita at the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health. Several of Dr. Larson’s former doctoral nursing students nominated her for the Beckman Award, citing how she inspired them to enhance collaboration between academic and clinical practice. The nominators included Eileen J. Carter, PhD, RN, Assistant Professor at the University of Connecticut School of Nursing.
“Often referred to as the ‘pioneer in promoting hand hygiene,’ Dr. Larson described that despite decades of research into hand hygiene, the consistent implementation of recommended hand hygiene practices remained suboptimal in clinical practice settings,” Dr. Carter said. “Dr. Larson instilled in me a passion to work closely with clinical nurses and interdisciplinary colleagues to ensure the relevance of scholarly work and the successful translation of research findings at the bedside.”
In 2014, after completing her PhD at Columbia University School of Nursing, Dr. Carter spearheaded a novel joint nurse researcher role in which her effort was split equally between Columbia University School of Nursing as an Assistant Professor and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital as a Nurse Researcher. Now in its seventh year, the joint nurse researcher role has expanded to a formal academic-practice partnership program, entitled Linking to Improve Nursing Knowledge (LINK). The LINK program consists of several PhD-prepared faculty in the joint nurse researcher role across one school of nursing and several health systems as well as an Academic-Practice Research Fellowship Program, in which clinical nurses are supported in their conduct and dissemination of research by nurse faculty.
Numerous successes have resulted from the program, including the rapid translation of research evidence into practice, increased scholarly activities between health system nurses and nursing faculty, and improved visibility and valuation of the PhD prepared nurse in health systems. In 2020, Columbia University School of Nursing received the prestigious New Era award from the America Association of Colleges of Nursing in recognition of the novelty and success of the LINK Program.
“While I am no longer a full-time faculty member at Columbia University School of Nursing, I am delighted to witness the continued growth and success of the LINK Program—inspired by my mentor, Dr. Elaine Larson,” Dr. Carter added.
“A passion of mine throughout my career as a nurse scholar has been to assure that education for all health professionals recognizes and respects the contributions of each discipline; provides a supportive and challenging learning environment; and prepares clinicians who are highly competent, clear thinkers and problem solvers,” Dr. Larson said. “Mentoring is invaluable for any discipline, and it is most gratifying to see my former students now as wonderful colleagues who are ‘passing it forward.’”
Dr. Larson received the first Pathfinder Award from the National Institute of Nursing Research in 2003, an International Nurse Researcher Award from Sigma Theta Tau in 2011, the John Stearns Medal for lifetime achievement in clinical practice from The New York Academy of Medicine in 2014, and the Walsh McDermott Medal from the National Academy of Medicine in 2017. She was Editor of the American Journal of Infection Control for 25 years (1995-2020) and has published more than 400 journal articles, four books and a number of book chapters in the areas of infection prevention, epidemiology, and clinical research and has served as a consultant in infection control and nursing in international settings. Currently Dr. Larson serves on the President's Advisory Committee to Combat Antibiotic Resistance, as President-Elect of the Board of Directors, Certification Board for Infection Control, and chairs two institutional review boards—for Columbia and The New York Academy of Medicine.
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