Nursing Professor Honored as Cameos of Caring Awardee

Assistant Nursing Professor Mary Kay Loughran has been honored by the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing as one of its 2019 Cameos of Caring® award recipients.

Cameos of Caring® awardees are recognized as role models within their organization and are honored within a specialty category. The honorees represent a variety of health systems, hospitals and nursing schools, and span myriad specialty areas such as education, anesthesia, oncology, intensive care and emergency nursing.

Candidates are nominated by their organization, and award committees select a number of recipients for different categories. Loughran was included in the Nurse Educator category.

“It has been an honor to be a nurse for over 40 years. My nursing education and experiences have provided me with so many wonderful opportunities that have led to an amazing career of which I am most proud,” said Loughran, who also was involved with the Cameos of Caring® awards at its inception. “Over the years, these awards have grown into an amazing event that celebrates the nursing profession. This makes receiving this award even more special to me.”

A nurse, educator and former hospital administrator, Loughran’s clinical, teaching and executive experience brings a wide range of nursing expertise to her role in the nursing school, where she also serves as program coordinator of the DNP Program.

Loughran, a former executive vice president and chief nursing officer at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, enjoyed working with pediatric patients and their families, and made a positive impact on the nursing staff’s professional development and improved patient care.

In addition to her involvement with the Duquesne chapter of Sigma Theta Tau—the international honor society of nursing—Loughran supports a variety of committees both in the nursing school and at the University level. She earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing and a master’s of health administration from the University of Pittsburgh and a Doctor of Nursing Practice from Duquesne.