UAMS AGEC 2020 Geriatric Fellows
Robin McAtee, PhD, RN, FACHE, Director and Ronni Chernoff, PhD, FAND, FASPEN, AGEC Associate Director are pleased to announce awardees for the 2020 Junior Faculty Fellowships in geriatrics at the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging at UAMS. Obioma Nwaiwu, MD, PhD and Stephanie Trotter, PhD, RN were notified of the decision in June 2020. The fellowship program objective is to support the career development of professionals who want to specialize in academic and clinical geriatrics. The award includes $30,000 in salary support and supported attendance for each at (1) national geriatric conference.
Obioma Nwaiwu, MD, PhD
Obioma Nwaiwu, MD, PhD obtained his medical degree from University of Ibadan, Nigeria, a PhD in Health Services Research from Texas A&M Health Science Center, and completed his family medicine residency at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. He was accepted into the geriatric fellowship program at UAMS in 2019 and has now joined the Department of Geriatrics as an assistant professor. His passion for improving access to care and reducing disparity for vulnerable older adults started prior to his medical education. Over the past few years, he has been involved in multiple projects aimed at improving access and care for vulnerable older adults and he has collaborated with the community leaders in this effort. He is very interested in helping older adults to reduce their fall risk and partnered with Area Agencies on Aging in Texas to implement and evaluate falls reduction programs. He is also an Aging Research in Criminal Justice & Health Network Scholars Awardee where he plans to evaluate the need, capacity, and interest in improving access to care of incarcerated older adults in Arkansas through provision of geriatric consultation services.
Stephanie Trotter, PhD, RN
Stephanie Trotter, PhD, RN began a second career in 2010, when she chose nursing as a second career path. She completed her baccalaureate nursing degree in 2012 and a PhD in nursing in 2017 both at UAMS. She loves the diversity and limitless opportunities available in this healthcare field. While obtaining her undergraduate degree, she was selected for the Hartford Center for Geriatric Nursing Excellence externship. During this experience, she developed a passion for the health and well-being of Arkansas’ geriatric population and this is where her teaching and research has since focused. Her dissertation work focused on age-specific differences in time perspectives, health beliefs, and behaviors of hypertensive adults. Dr. Trotter is a faculty member of UAMS’ College of Nursing where she strives to cultivate respect and passion for the geriatric population in undergraduate nursing students. She feels that as a nurse educator, it is her calling to prepare the next generation of nurses to care for older adults. In her free time, she enjoys family time, including her four-legged family members, and home improvement projects.