Thelma Ingles Award Winner LaDonna Brown: Championing Health Equity and Geriatric Care

LaDonna Brown, MSN (’24), AGPCNP-BC, MA, BSN, RN, came to Duke University School of Nursing in 2021 as an Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) student and matriculated directly into the School’s Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) Program. She graduated from the program this past December and was awarded the 2024 Thelma Ingles Award for Excellence in Clinical Expertise and Scholarly Activities.

“In 15 years of teaching, I have never encountered a student with such an insatiable appetite for learning and service,” said nominator and Associate Professor Sean Convoy, DNP, PMHNP-BC. “Our many conversations over the past 3 years have centrally focused on her passion to better support older adults with an emphasis on prevention and dignity.”

Brown believes improved adult and gerontological primary care is critical to better health care and health outcomes. “If one can impact the adult or grandparent in teaching the link between primary care and improved health outcomes, one can impact a household and potentially a generation,” she said. “Primary care is a ‘gateway’ to better health through early diagnosis, treatment and education to prevent or mitigate worsening health outcomes.”

Clinical Trips, Simulations, and Independent Study Inform Training

During her time at Duke, Brown completed multiple service trips in Asia, Europe, Central and South America. She completed an advanced certification in Functional Medicine through the Institute for Functional Medicine and was selected to participate in the School’s Nurses Advancing Geriatric Excellence through Simulation (NU-AGE-SIM) project, which trains nursing students in care of medically underserved older adults facing behavioral/mental health challenges using innovative simulation-based technology. She also completed an independent study focused on geriatric psychopharmacology, which Brown says was one of her favorite experiences at DUSON because of the depth of clinical knowledge she gained caring for those with mental health needs in a primary care setting.

“My instructor was great in assigning relevant course work that helped deepen my understanding of applying the material in practice,” Brown said. The School has also prepared her to advocate for health care equity, she said, through its integration of health equity as a topic in didactic sessions and training on cultural intelligence.

Brown grew up in Michigan, but her native roots are in Jamaica. Before Duke, she earned an undergraduate degree in Spanish, with a concentration in Hispanic studies and a minor in French language and interpretation. She also completed a Master of Arts in Spanish Language and Culture.

The Thelma Ingles Award was established in 1973 in honor of the distinguished nurse educator and writer who pioneered the development of DUSON’s first clinical nurse specialist program at the master’s level, which ultimately led to improved patient care and increased respect for nurses by physicians.

“I hope to grow into an APRN who continues the work of those in the profession who proceed me,” Brown said, “including the work of Thelma Ingles and to be a part of living out one of her credos: ‘The care of patients is more important than the growth and prestige of the profession we belong to.’ ”