USF Health College of Nursing student receives 2022 AACN/NIDA award

A USF Health College of Nursing Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) student is a 2022 American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) and the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) Substance Use Disorders Evidence-Based Practice Training award recipient.

On January 18, 2022, the AACN announced R. Shavon Clark was selected for her project, Increasing Access to Treatment for Pregnant Women with Opioid Use Disorder: A Quality Improvement Project.

Since 2017, the AACN and the NIDA have offered an award up to $10,000 to a student from an accredited program at an AACN member school. According to the AACN, the goal of the grant is to advance research, dissemination and adoption of evidence-based substance use disorder treatment.

The goal of Shavon’s project is to close an identified gap in access to treatment for pregnant women with substance use disorder in Florida. She plans to do so by increasing referrals to treatment access for pregnant women with opioid use disorder in a Southwest Florida community, where she currently is a buprenorphine-waivered provider of medication-assisted treatment.

Shavon began her nursing career in 1999 as a high school dual enrollment student when she was accepted to a competitive accelerated practical nursing program. Since then, she received her ASN degree from Valencia College in 2003, a BSN degree from the University of Phoenix in 2009 and her  MSN degree from South University in 2016.

Over the years, Shavon worked as a registered nurse and held a variety of nursing leadership roles. Currently, Shavon is a College of Nursing adjunct faculty member and DNP student, with intent to graduate in August 2022.

Story by Cassidy Delamarter