TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The Mississippi Nurses Association recently honored a University of Alabama nursing professor with its “Celebrating Nurses Award.”

Dr. Donna Gullette, an assistant professor in UA’s Capstone College of Nursing, recently put her compassion and her other nursing skills to use in her own home, caring for the terminally ill person who inspired her to obtain her doctoral degree.

Gullette, a Columbus, Miss., resident, cared for her close friend as she was dying of cancer. Gullette moved her friend and the necessary medical equipment into her home, caring for her during the final two months of her life.

Gullette, who joined UA in August 2002, was also nominated for the Association’s 2002 Nurse of the Year award. Gullette previously taught at the Mississippi University for Women and at Northeast Louisiana University. She has experience as both an intensive care unit and emergency room nurse, and she has also worked as a clinical specialist, infection control nurse and as a transplant coordinator.