Nursing alum to receive UIC Alumni Association’s top honor
Eui Geum Oh, PhD '99, will accept the UICAA Alumni Achievement Award in April
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As a distinguished researcher, educator, scholar and advocate for evidence-based nursing practice, Eui Geum Oh, PhD ’99, is committed to enhancing patient care by empowering nurses. New research, technologies and science constantly change the field of nursing and its potential to impact individual lives, and Oh is dedicated to keeping nurses trained for the times.
On April 18, Oh will receive the University of Illinois Chicago Alumni Association’s Alumni Achievement Award. It’s the highest honor bestowed by UICAA, and it recognizes individuals whose exceptional success and national or international recognition in their fields demonstrates the lifelong value of a UIC education.
During her doctoral studies at UIC Nursing, Oh focused on improving the quality-of-life for patients with respiratory illnesses. She had access to emerging IBM and Microsoft technologies for data analysis and reference management. Oh says she benefited from mentorship from renowned nurse scholars like Janet Larson, Carol Ferrans and Mi Ja Kim.
“They instilled in me the importance of leadership in research and administration and demonstrated how nurse researchers can significantly impact the health care industry,” says Oh.
After graduating in 1999, Oh moved to Korea, where she has transformed nursing science and education for two decades. As the inaugural chief of the Review Board at Korea’s National Research Foundation, Nursing Division, she made notable contributions to research and development. She published more than 160 papers in esteemed journals, secured more than $3 million in research grants from the Korean government and earned recognition as the Best Nurse Scientist from the Korean Academy of Nursing Science. And, she founded the Korean Center of JBI, bolstering evidence-based research and professional training for health care professionals.
These and many more achievements led to her current role as the dean of the College of Nursing at Seoul’s Yonsei University, the No. 1 ranked nursing program in Korea. At Yonsei, Oh mentored countless nursing students and developed an innovative nursing entrepreneurship curriculum, which received funding from Brain Korea 21, a government scholarship program that “aims to cultivate outstanding scholars who take the lead in responding to social changes.”
Oh says, “My passion project for the nursing profession is to advocate for entrepreneurial endeavors and to leverage cutting-edge technologies, such as artificial intelligence and big data, to advance health care. Nurses play a crucial role in integrating these innovations to improve patient outcomes and to streamline health care delivery, and new ideas and technologies enhance patient care and elevate the nursing profession.”
Courtesy of UIC Office of Advancement