Rita Trivette recipient of a NEF Scholarship has been a registered nurse for 33 years. She began working in a hospital upon graduation from high school with the intention of becoming a physician. It did not take long for her to realize that her calling was at the patient’s bedside as a nurse. She received her ADN, BSN, and MSN in nursing education from East Tennessee State University.

Professional experiences include medical-surgical nursing, acute and chronic dialysis, and adult intensive care. Rita currently serves as an Associate Professor of Nursing at Milligan College, a Christian liberal arts college in northeastern Tennessee. She maintains her clinical competency working as a staff nurse in Adult ICU at Johnson City Medical Center when not in the classroom. Dedicated to life-long learning experiences, she is currently enrolled in the adult gerontology-acute care doctoral program at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis. She plans to utilize the learning experience of a doctoral degree to improve the education of her students and better prepare them for professional practice. Upon completion of her DNP she additionally hopes to facilitate the development of a graduate nursing program at Milligan College. Rita anticipates working on a PRN (as needed) basis as a DNP and feels the education she is receiving will assist in improving patient and facility outcomes while allowing her to remain intricately involved in providing hands-on-care.