Nicole Nisly, MD, Professor in General Internal Medicine, has been chosen as one of the recipients of the 2018 Michael J. Brody Award for Faculty Excellence in Service. Sponsored by the University of Iowa Office of the Executive Vice President & Provost and chosen by the Faculty Council, this award honors the memory of Dr. Brody, Professor of Pharmacology and former UI Faculty Senate president. It goes to faculty members each year who have served the UI and its community in exceptional and sustained ways for several years, with imagination and dedication toward improvement.
Dr. Nisly was a natural candidate for this award. The list of her innovations in compassionate care within UI Health Care is long, but some notable achievements stand out. She and Dr. Katie Imborek opened the first LGTBQ Clinic in the state of Iowa, providing greatly needed access to judgment-free health care to an underserved population. With Michelle Miller, PharmD, Dr. Nisly also began a clinic at UIHC where people most at risk of contracting HIV can obtain PrEP, a daily medicine that reduces their risk by between 70 and 90 percent.
Dr. Nisly reduces health care disparities in more than just the kind of care being offered, but even in how that care is delivered. She led the campaign within the institution to add the “preferred name / pronoun” fields to a patient’s medical record. In his letter of support for Dr. Nisly’s nomination, Dr. Dale Abel said of this change: “This small and easily adjusted focus has an immeasurable impact on the amount of public dignity a patient is allowed to preserve.” Dr. Nisly has also been instrumental in revising the hospital rooming policies so that individuals of the same self-identified gender can share hospital rooms rather than forcing assignments based on birth-assigned genders.
“Again and again, Dr. Nisly champions the fight,” Dr. Abel wrote, “to provide equal access to high-quality and compassionate care to every segment of the population.” The Department of Internal Medicine celebrates Dr. Nisly’s well-deserved win of this prestigious award. She shares this honor with Professors Christina Bohannan and Charles Lynch. The three of them will be formally presented with their awards on October 10.