Readers of the Journal of Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nursing, and nurses in advanced practice roles in particular, will be saddened to hear that Dr Ann Hamric passed away February 9, 2020. Ann was educated at Vanderbilt University (BSN), the University of California at San Francisco (MSN), and University of Maryland (PhD). In addition to significant scholarly and real-world achievements in the area of Ethics, Ann is probably best known for her contributions to the rise of Advanced Practice Nursing. While Associate Professor at Louisiana State University, Ann testified before the state of Louisiana Legislature, advocating for prescriptive authority and other now widely accepted privileges enjoyed by advanced practice nurses. Her advocacy ultimately led her to publication of Advanced Practice Nursing, widely considered to be the definitive text for professional practice with the various advanced practice roles we now assume, including clinical nurse specialist, nurse practitioner, nurse anesthetist, and nurse midwife.
As Associate Professor at the University of Virginia, Ann frequently expressed her advocacy for WOC nurse practice and its relationship to advanced practice roles. In a Guest Editorial published in JWOCN in 2000 (27[1]:46-47), Ann outlined persuasive reasons for WOC nurses to move into advanced practice roles, and the possibility of a WOC focused advanced practice role as clinical nurse specialist or nurse practitioner. Upon hearing of her death, I re-read her commentary for the first time in more than a decade and found that the issues she discussed, and the complex choices made by WOC nurses, are as richly promising and complex as they were in 2000. I join you in mourning Ann's passing while honoring her contributions in advanced practice nursing and ethics.
Respectfully,
Mikel Gray