M. Cynthia Logsdon, Ph.D., WHNP-BC, FAAN, Professor, University of Louisville, School of Nursing and Associate Chief of Nursing for Research, University of Louisville Hospital has won the 2015 Elizabeth McWilliams Miller Award for Excellence in Research from Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI), the honor society of nursing. Logsdon, an alumna of the Spalding University School of Nursing, which nominated her for the award, is being presented the award at the STTI biennial convention in Las Vegas, NV Nov. 7-11, 2015. STTI lauds nurses and health care professionals with the International Awards for Nursing Excellence, and this award honors Logsdon for her achievements in research and contributions to the profession of nursing.
Spalding University nominated Logsdon for the award through the university's chapter of STTI because of her ongoing service to the field and to her alma mater. "Dr. Logsdon, who began her career in nursing as a student in our Bachelor of Science in Nursing program, is being honored for her accomplishments and contributions to nursing research," said Joanne Berryman, Ed.D., RN, MSN, FACHE, Dean of Spalding University's Kosair Charities College of Health and Natural Sciences. "Her focus on service to the community and her profession are deserving of this honor."
Logsdon also holds a master's degree and a doctorate from Indiana University and has pursued further education at the University Louisville and University of Pennsylvania.
During her 30-year career, Logsdon has advanced nursing science, improved nursing practice and informed consumers about variables related to women's health. She has progressed the science of postpartum depression with the identification of barriers to depression treatment, particularly in adolescent mothers. Her accomplishments include more than 200 publications and presentations, as well as awards for her work from the Association of Women's Health, Obstetrics and Neonatal Nursing and the American Academy of Nursing, which inducted her as a member in 2006. She is co-editor of Maternal Sensitivity: A scientific foundation for practice about postpartum depression and child development, and she developed the Postpartum Support Questionnaire, a tool that international researchers use to further research in the field.
"Dr. Logsdon is an exemplar in evidence-based practice and is advancing the science of nursing. She truly represents our school's community of scholars who are called by compassion, destined to discover," said Marcia J. Hern, Ed.D., CNS, RN, Dean of the University of Louisville School of Nursing.
Through her co-appointment at the University of Louisville Hospital as associate chief of nursing for research, Logsdon collaborates with direct care nurses for research, evidence-based practice and quality improvement initiatives.
"Quality of care and patient outcomes are benefited by Dr. Logsdon's dedication to advance nursing," said Shari Kretzschmer, MBA, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, Vice President of Patient Care Services and Chief Nursing Officer for University of Louisville Hospital, a part of KentuckyOne Health. "Her work improves the lives of our patients, the careers of our nurses and exemplifies the best in nursing."
For her commitment to preparing and training nurses in education and workplace settings and expanding the body of nursing research for women's healthcare, STTI has recognized Dr. M. Cynthia Logsdon for extraordinary excellence with the Elizabeth McWilliams Miller Award for Excellence in Research. More information on the STTI awards can be found here.
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