Ms. Merle Evelyn Pray was one of the first nurses to be certified as a generalist in Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing in the state of Illinois.
CHICAGO, IL, January 09, 2020 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Marquis Who's Who, the world's premier publisher of biographical profiles, is proud to present Merle Evelyn Pray with the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award. An accomplished listee, Ms. Pray celebrates many years' experience in her professional network, and has been noted for achievements, leadership qualities, and the credentials and successes she has accrued in her field. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
Ms. Pray is a nurse psychotherapist and nursing educator with over 60 years of service to her discipline. Inspired by the story of famous Civil War nurse Clara Barton, she decided from an early age to pursue a career in medicine. She earned a diploma in nursing from the New Hampshire School of Nursing in 1952, and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing at Loyola University in 1977. Ms. Pray completed her education with a Master of Science from the University of Illinois in 1983.
From 1953 until 1964, Ms. Pray was the head nurse at the Michael Reese Psychiatric and Psychosomatic Psychiatric Institute of Chicago. She briefly served as a community placement coordinator for the Illinois Department of Mental Health and Development Disabilities, before becoming a mental health administrator and area planning coordinator, a role she would hold between 1978 and 1981. Ms. Pray excelled with the Department of Veterans Affairs in 1984 as a head nurse for the Jesse Brown VA West Side Medical Center of Chicago. She rose to become an advance practice nurse in 1985 and a clinical specialist in 1986, where she remained until her retirement in 2013.
While employed by the Illinois Department of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities, Ms. Pray was one of the first nurses to be certified as a generalist in Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing in the state of Illinois. Subsequently, she was certified as a specialist in psychiatric nursing by the ANA, and certified in Addictions Nursing by the International Nurses Society on Addictions.
Ms. Pray is proud of her involvement with the Department of Veterans Affairs, and considers it an honor to see the progress her patients achieve with appropriate care. She is the author of "Effectiveness of Day Treatment for Dual Diagnosis Patients with Severe Chronic Illness," published in 2008 in the Journal of Addictions. Ms. Pray is a member of the American Nurses Association, the National Nurses Society on Addictions, the American Psychiatric Nurses Association and Sigma Theta Tau.
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