Newswise — Park Ridge, Ill. – The American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology (AANA) presented Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) Donald Larmon, DNP, CRNA, with the Didactic Instructor of the Year Award during its 2021 Virtual Congress, August 13-17.
The Didactic Instructor of the Year Award, established in 1991, is presented to an individual who has made significant contributions to the education of student registered nurse anesthetists in the classroom. The Award recognizes the individual's commitment to the profession of nurse anesthesia and to the advancement of educational standards that further the art and science of anesthesiology and result in high-quality patient care.
Don is the program director at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) Hamot School of Anesthesiology/Gannon University in Erie, Pennsylvania.
“To be the recipient of the 2021 Didactic Instructor of the Year award is an unbelievable honor, and I am deeply humbled. I have always felt it is a great honor to be trusted in a patient’s care, and I am learning there is a similar sense in being an instructor, knowing that you are serving students,” Larmon said. “I believe my role to be more than just an instructor, but rather a mixture of teacher, mentor, role model, and someone who maintains belief in our students when they begin to doubt themselves. Being nominated by a former student is the ultimate compliment, which leaves me speechless, thank you Tatiana! Thank you to all my didactic and clinical colleagues who also give their time and dedication as instructors who support our students every day.”
According to his nomination, Don “goes above and beyond his duty of an educator and operates from the heart and cares deeply about leadership, communication process and the influence he has on students. …. Dr. Larmon …. makes a true and measurable impact on students by contributing at the highest level.”
Larmon was praised for his encouragement of student registered nurse anesthetists’ (SRNAs) involvement in the profession through the AANA and Pennsylvania Association of Nurse Anesthetists (PANA). “He instills in students that getting involved provides not just growth, but opportunities to be a part of great advances in our profession,” his nomination cited. “He inspires [SRNAs] to stand up for what we believe is true and encourages us not to conform, but pushes us to strive to know more, get to the root of issues and believe in change.”
Program director since 2019, Larmon has been a CRNA with UMPC and North American Partners in Anesthesia since 2010. Prior to that he was a clinical instructor at UPMC and a CRNA at Hamot Medical Center in Erie.
Larmon received his Doctor of Nursing Practice degree and his Master of Science in Nurse Anesthesia degree from Gannon University in Erie, Pennsylvania. his. He received his bachelor’s degree in nursing from Edinboro University in Edinboro, Pennsylvania.
RSS