Julie Knapp, RN, BSN, CMSRN is the honored recipient of the Edith Pritchard Scholarship for 2023. Julie earned her Bachelors of Science in Nursing in 2009 from the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. She is a member of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society. She is currently completing her Masters of Science in Nursing with a focus on gerontology primary care as a nurse practitioner at Wilkes University.

Since high school, Julie felt a calling toward the nursing profession. She felt there was a need to take care of the sick and to spend time and learn from her older family members. Her grandmother was a nurse and her grandfather was a physician and together they taught her the importance of caring for the whole patient. They inspired her to complete her nursing program at University of Nevada-Las Vegas. After completing her Bachelor’s degree, she knew she needed to continue her education journey so that she could continue to advance the care she provided to people as well as advance the nursing field.

Julie has focused her career on gerontology nursing and has a background primarily in home health, hospice and palliative care. She is looking forward to advancing nursing practice in this area upon completion of her degree. She plans to focus her career on continuing to improve end of life care in her small community in Kalispell, Montana. Julie plans to use this scholarship as a means to continue her education and to work in returning hospice end of life and palliative care to a classic model so that families and patients are well cared for spiritually, physically, emotionally, mentally, and socially.