Yale University
Spring 2006 Commencement
Milton and Anne Sidney Prize
The Milton and Anne Sidney Prize is given annually at Commencement to the graduating stu-dent whose research praxis, in the judgment of the faculty, best exemplifies the School's commitment to clinical research and its mission to contribute to better health care for people through systematic study of the nature and effect of nursing practice.
The recipient of the Prize must demonstrate creative clinical scholarship in the conceptualization of the problem under study, methodologic and analytic competence, and excellence in writing. Above all, the study must be one which will make a difference in the delivery of nursing care for the recipients of that care. The recipient of the award receives a gift and citation, a small cash honorarium, and his/her name will be engraved on a plaque hung in the Reference Room.
The 2006 Milton and Anne Sidney Prize Citation
Half of all new HIV infections occur in those under 25, mostly contracted through unprotected sex. Contraception and condom use among teens is spotty at best and there are indications that HIV infected teens have similarly inconsistent use patterns. Despite the public health implications, the literature on reproductive needs of HIV infected youth is sparse.
This YSN graduate has pursued her interest in HIV through work in both specialty clinics and prisons. Her praxis expands this expertise and offers needed clinical and policy considerations in this neglected area. She concludes that while contraception education for teens currently emphasizes hormonal control with condom back-up, that more emphasis should be given to condom use for both HIV positive teens and non-infected teens.
The faculty working with this student believe that because of the timeliness of the topic and the paper's thorough, thoughtful review that it will serve as an excellent reference for clinicians working with HIV infected teens and should have a significant impact on the prevention of HIV transmission among youth.
Excellent scholarship develops depth by thorough analysis of particulars in a way which allows one to confidently address broader issues. This praxis simultaneously guides clinicians in the counseling of HIV infected teenagers in the difficult but essential area of safe sexual activity while simultaneously offering a model for contraceptive counseling of all populations.
With the awarding of the 2006 Milton and Anne Sidney Prize, the Yale School of Nursing honored a true clinician-scholar: Amanda Swan (in photo above with Stuart Jay Sidney, son of Milton and Anne Sidney-for whom the prize is named).
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