Amy Renee, 2026 Outstanding New Practitioner
“Becoming a psychiatric nurse practitioner, now in private practice after many years as an inpatient nurse, has been a rewarding feat and has also been a catalyst for my growth as an individual.
“Over the past five years, I have built a practice targeting underserved communities while providing approachable, transparent, culturally competent, and responsive care through a lens of intersectionality, so that patients may feel seen and supported in a new way.
“Through this process, I have embraced and celebrated my eccentric, tatted, book-collecting, cat-loving self, which I find helps create a space for patients to show up genuinely, as they are, wherever they may be in life.
“Receiving the AAPPN’s Outstanding New Practitioner Award to me signifies hope; asserting that we as a profession will continue to come together, creating a rich collective of individuals serving society to our fullest potential.
“It invites that being different, whether background or presentation, or the way quality care is provided, can not only impact the lives of our patients but inspire other current and future ARNPs to step outside the box, push boundaries, and live authentically. There is a place for all of us.
“I am honored and hope to be able to continue serving patients and the community alongside this group of outstanding colleagues, many of whom inspired and mentored me along the way.”