V-CARE Student Receives Reservist Award
A USF College of Nursing V-CARE student who is also a U.S. Air Force medic will be receiving a prestigious $1,000 scholarship promoting medical excellence among reservists within the seven branches of the U.S. uniformed services.
Marianna O’Brien will receive the Reserve Officers Association’s (ROA) Eileen Bonner Scholarship for Medical Excellence during the group’s national convention in Iowa in September.
The honor is a new award recognizing an outstanding reservist who has “contributed above and beyond the call of duty to the military and/or civilian community and is furthering their medical education.”
O’Brien is in the V-CARE program, an accelerated nursing program that allows medics and corpsmen to transition into a nursing career by offering credit for military training and education. For the past six years, O’Brien has served as a medic in the U.S. Air Force. She also works as an emergency medical technician.
The scholarship is named after Colonel Bonner, a long-time member of ROA. She served as the group’s first female president and the first president from the medical services.
In her military career, she served as the Chief Nurse of the 8th Medical Brigade in the Army Reserves. In her civilian life, she worked as a health care administrator and management consultant.
The scholarship was established to recognize Colonel Bonner’s “total dedication to the medical services and her belief in the importance of education.”
Story by Elizabeth L. Brown, USF College of Nursing
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