Carolyn Watts, M.S.N., R.N.
Watts named advanced practice nurse of year
Carolyn Watts, M.S.N., R.N., has been named the Advanced Practice Nurse of the Year by the Middle Tennessee Advanced Practice Nurses Association (MTAPN).
Watts has a faculty appointment in the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and has practiced as a clinical nurse specialist for nearly 30 years, focusing in surgical oncology and wound and ostomy care. She serves on the national board of the Wound/Ostomy and Continence Nurse Association, has precepted many student nurse practitioners in the care of the surgical oncology patient, and served as a consultant to foreign surgical nurses in the art of advanced wound care. She lectures widely on wound care in the surgical and non-surgical arenas.
In her current position at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Watts manages surgical oncology patients in both the outpatient and inpatient environment. She has written protocols for her practice, developed electronic order sets, and lectures on surgical oncology topics for students in Vanderbilt's nursing and medical schools.
Her most recent research focus was a joint program involving assessing the prevalence of skin breakdown in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU) population. She and Richard Benoit, M.S.N., R.N., authored a study with an approach that has significantly reduced the number of patient pressure ulcers in the SICU.
Watts shares this honor with Barbara Brown of The Heart Group and Jane Robison of Helping Hands Health Clinic.