Yale School of Nursing (YSN) is delighted to announce the four judges of the Creative Writing Awards (CWA): Centennial Edition, which is collecting poetry and prose entries through March 25.
Anna Quindlen
Quindlen won the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in 1992 for her New York Times column “Public and Private.” She has also published many books of fiction, nonfiction, and children’s literature, and is an experienced CWA judge.
Quindlen is currently on tour for her newest novel, “After Annie,” and will be appearing at First Congregational Church in Madison, Conn. on March 26 with R.J. Julia’s.
Nicole Langan Maciejak ’06 MSN, APRN, CPNP-PC
Maciejak is currently a lecturer in the pediatric Nurse Practitioner (NP) specialty at YSN, and she joined the faculty in 2020.
As a student at YSN in 2004, Maciejack won the CWA for her poem “Right-Sided Smile.” The piece describes learning from an experienced nurse how to interpret the signals from a patient who had experienced a stroke.
Sana Goldberg ’20 MSN
While a student at YSN, Goldberg published her first book, “How to Be a Patient: The Essential Guide to Navigating the World of Modern Medicine.” The idea started out as a concise pamphlet and quickly morphed into a 400-plus-page desk reference.
In 2020 after graduation, Goldberg again offered salient advice, ranging from how to be a patient with Covid-19 to advocating for a loved one while they were receiving care during the first wave of the pandemic.
Ophelia Empleo-Frazier ’99 MSN, GNP-BC, CDP
Empleo-Frazier is a lecturer in the adult/gerontology primary care NP specialty and is also a preceptor for students in their specialty rotations. She received YSN’s Preceptor Appreciation Award in 2017.
CWA did not yet exist when Empleo-Frazier was a student; the beloved annual tradition celebrates its 21st anniversary this year.
YSN Students: Enter the Contest
Every YSN student is invited to participate, across all specialties and degree programs. After the arrival of the first online MSN cohort last year, 2024 marks the first opportunity for those students to participate. Multiple entries are welcome. Three winners will each receive a cash prize of $1,000. Submissions are due at 11:59 pm on March 25.
Read the 2023 winning pieces here. Read a list of all previous winners here.