Dalton Bender

Dalton Bender is the recipient of the Miriam M. Powell Scholarship. His educational history includes a Bachelor of Science in Clinical Laboratory Science from Northern Michigan University, an accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing, and he is currently in the process of obtaining a Doctor of Nursing Practice with a focus as a Family Nurse Practitioner and Certified Nurse Educator at the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor.

Dalton’s path to nursing has been a tangled web of uncertainty. He is grateful for the education and experiences he has had prior to going back to school for nursing, but he knew that he wanted to be more involved in direct patient care than laboratory worked allowed. Nursing was an obvious choice as he knew the depth and complexity of patient care that nurses deal with everyday. For Dalton, being able to provide care for patients in some of the most difficult times of their lives is one of the most gratifying and rewarding experiences.

He wanted to further his education to pursue a degree as a Doctor of Nursing Practice because he wanted to be able to share his knowledge and experience in various settings of healthcare with students who have the same level of passion providing care for patients. He chose the University of Michigan for graduate education partly for the reputation of the University. It is one of the most prestigious and highly regarded programs in the nation. He knew that if he were to receive his education here, he would be tested and challenged to deliver the highest quality of care for patients and future students.

Currently he works as a CVICU RN at Michigan Medicine. He is also a Graduate Nursing Director at the University of Michigan Student-Run Free Clinic where he has been working for over two years. This is a role that has allowed him the opportunity to care for a diverse patient population that are underserved and/or uninsured while gaining leadership experience with direct oversight of other team members at the clinic. In addition to this role, Dalton has been gearing his clinical rotations to the experiences of LGBTQIA+ patients and has focused on HIV medicine as well as transgender medicine. His professional endeavors include being elected as the President of the Ann Arbor student chapter of Michigan Council of Nurse Practitioners (MICNP).

Daltons’ doctoral project will focus on making sexually transmitted infection screening, preventative prophylaxis for HIV, and contraception counseling more accessible to patients without insurance. These collective experiences would not have been possible without the guidance and encouragement from the phenomenal faculty and staff at University of Michigan School of Nursing. The Miriam Powell Scholarship will facilitate the completion of his degree in a field that he is passionate about. This scholarship will also support him in his future endeavors by playing a key role in his ability to continue to provide care for underserved and underrepresented populations.