Daniel Honored as a DFW Great 100 Nurse

Tuesday, Feb 22, 2022

A lifelong nurse to the core, Kathryn Daniel, has been involved in the care of older adults for more than 35 years, and this year she is one of the newest honorees selected as a 2022 Dallas-Fort Worth Great 100 Nurse.

“Nursing as a career has been and still is, a wonderful career for anyone to consider. There are so many opportunities for nurses to be a part of really making a significant difference in the lives of people in our communities, both at the individual and community level,” said Dr. Daniel. “The initial preparation to become a registered nurse opens doors to such a wide array of prospects. I’ve really been blessed to be able to take advantage of those open doors when they appeared in my path across my career. I can’t imagine doing anything else!”

 

Daniel is a professor and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Nursing in The University of Texas at Arlington’s College of Nursing and Health Innovation (CONHI) and a leader in Adult and Gerontologic Nursing. She is an Adult and Gerontological Primary Care Nurse Practitioner. She was nominated by her peers in the nursing field for her dedication and passion for the field of nursing, as well as the great impact she has had on patients and students alike throughout her career.

“Dr. Daniel is a remarkable educator, researcher, and nurse,” said Elizabeth Merwin, CONHI dean. “She is well respected and admired by her peers within our college and nationally in her field, and a great mentor to those she works with. We are fortunate to have her in CONHI, and this is a well-deserved honor which recognizes her outstanding dedication to nursing and older adults.”

Daniel has practiced as an APRN in geriatric primary care, long-term care, home based primary care, and assisted living facilities during her career as a nurse practitioner. Before becoming an APRN, she practiced as a critical care nurse and administrative supervisor for one of the largest hospitals in the DFW area. While in that role, she was selected to be the first nurse to care for the first heart transplant patient in Dallas and participated in the development of the “Two Day Alternative” program which led the way across the nation in innovation in scheduling for hospital nurses. Her most recent work and passion centers on facilitating healthy aging and preparing nurses to care for a rapidly aging population.

She is an accomplished researcher who, since 2015, has led UTA’s Smart Care program, a collaborative project between the College of Nursing and Health Innovation and the College of Engineering that develops technology to improve the independence, quality of life and health of the elderly and those with disabilities. Her expertise in gerontological nursing is well recognized by faculty from other disciplines and she is frequently sought out as a collaborator on funded interdisciplinary research studies.

Daniel has also spearheaded the effort for CONHI’s newest certificates, the undergraduate certificate in Telehealth and Health Informatics, as well as the Graduate Gerontology Healthcare certificate. Both certificates bring critical training to CONHI’s students so that they are prepared to provide exceptional care in these specialized fields.

The Great 100 Nurses program honors 100 registered nurses across the Dallas-Fort Worth region. Recipients must be nominated by their peers and are selected for being role models, leaders, community servants, compassionate caregivers and significant contributors to the nursing profession.