March was a month of awards as two Department of Family Medicine staff members were honored with UAB awards and Chinavia Prad, CMA, certified medical assistant lead at Hoover Primary Care, received a 2022 Ambulatory Clinical Nurse Excellence Award.
Learn more about each award recipient and their unique contributions to UAB and our department.
Shyla K. Fields Honored at 2022 Padma Awards
Shyla K. Fields, MBA, director of the department’s Office of Identity, Inclusion and Collective Conscience, was selected as the Outstanding UAB Staff Member by the UAB Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) as part of their 2022 Padma Awards.
The CSW, founded in 2005, works to ensure that UAB serves the needs of women faculty, staff and students and advocates for inclusiveness and equitable opportunities for all. The Padma Awards, previously the Outstanding Women Awards, honors those who go above and beyond to persevere in support of underrepresented populations at UAB and beyond.
Fields was nominated by department leadership for her work within I2C2 and student mentoring.
Shyla K. Fields, MBA
“Every part of [Field’s] daily work is motivated by her desire to support people who, through no fault of their own, have had to struggle in an unequal society,” noted the nominator. “Everyone in our department has learned from her example and we are fortunate to have her on our team.”
Fields and the other recipients of the awards were honored at a virtual ceremony on March 24.
“I am truly honored to get this award and to be nominated,” said Fields. “My work allows me to get to know my colleagues more on a personal basis and allows me to know the work that needs to be done. Seeing them see how we can embrace one another on a human level but also how we can be better practitioners in our fields-- it truly is uplifting to me. I am grateful to be seen and I look forward to continuing to do this work.”
Fields stewards departmental growth in areas of inclusion and equity by partnering with team members to create anti-oppression individualized development plans (AO-IDPs) designed to facilitate growth and personal awareness surrounding topics on anti-bias behaviors, community activation and healing and more.
Each recipient will receive a glass award hand-crafted by a local artist with unique color and design elements. The awards represent the Padma and the symbolic resilience and ability of the recipients to bloom in their areas of leadership.
For more information about I2C2, please visit their webpage.
Adrienne Fowler-Payne Among UAB VIP Award Honorees
Adrienne Fowler-Payne, MPA, program director of the Department of Family Medicine’s CU2RE program, was recently honored with a UAB VIP Award from the UAB Values in Action Program.
The award, formerly known as the UAB Employee of the Month Award, is presented quarterly to three UAB employees who exemplify or embody one or more of UAB’s core values, including integrity, respect, diversity and inclusiveness, collaboration, excellence and achievement, stewardship and accountability.
Adrienne Fowler-Payne, MPA
Fowler-Payne's nomination highlighted her work with the CU2RE, or Comprehensive Urban Underserved and Rural Experience program. Established in 2020 with a $7 million grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration, the program aims to increase the number of primary care and family medicine physicians practicing in rural and urban underserved communities. In her work as program director, Fowler-Payne stewards the grant funding, including an additional $5.2 million in supplemental funding awarded in 2021. She has helped grow the program – which welcomed its second cohort of medical students in January – across all of UAB’s campuses.
Fowler-Payne's nomination particularly focuses on her work upholding values of collaboration, excellence and achievement. As CU2RE program director, she regularly collaborates with faculty and staff across four campuses, bringing people together to encourage open dialogue while making decisions for the program. Her nomination said that she “seeks to understand problems from the point of view of all stakeholders and is quick to ask for clarification or provide it herself if needed to improve a situation. Her work connects people across campuses, professions and departments.”
Fowler-Payne has also played a key role in the excellent work produced by the CU2RE team so far. The program has been a finalist for an international education award at the ReImagine Education Conference and has nearly tripled in size since its inception, with 23 students in the program currently. Fowler-Payne leads planning for the logistics and requirements of each student’s program experience and collaborates with fellow CU2RE team members to ensure that each student has what they need to succeed in the program. In addition, she reports all grant expenditures, while documenting that the program is meeting and exceeding expectations of the HRSA grant.
“I am incredibly honored to receive this acknowledgment. Building a medical student education program during a global pandemic came with its challenges but I am proud of my contributions to the work we are doing. I am thankful to my supportive team members who have extended grace as I navigated my role as program director and have been open to learning and growing alongside me as we collaborate and work to develop engaging program activities for our students who have a heart to serve vulnerable populations within our community.”
Chinavia Prad, CMA, Receives 2022 Ambulatory Clinical Nurse Excellence Award
Prad, a certified medical assistant lead at Hoover Primary Care who also covers the Hoover Family Medicine clinic, received a 2022 Ambulatory Clinical Nurse Excellence Award.
The award is given by the American Academy of Ambulatory Care Nursing “in recognition of a member’s excellence in nursing skills, knowledge, expertise and personal attributes that contribute to the delivery of quality patient care,” according to the academy’s website. Recipients receive a monetary prize and will be recognized at the academy’s upcoming annual conference in May.
Chinavia Prad, CMA, left, with Annie Shedlarksi, R.N., and Lia Williams
Prad began working for the Hoover clinic in 2018 and was promoted to her current role in 2021. She is currently completing a master’s of education degree in community health. In addition to her work at Hoover, Prad has contributed to the broader UAB community through her assistance with new hire orientation and by building connections with other clinics.
Annie Shedlarski, R.N., nurse manager at the Hoover Family Medicine clinic, called Prad, “delightful, articulate, eager to work and grow,” and a colleague who consistently demonstrates UAB’s core values.
“Chinavia is able to work independently as well as part of a team and can be relied upon to remain calm in tense situations,” Shedlarski said. “She has been instrumental in Hoover’s success, providing all onsite CCMA training and acting as a role model for all team members by providing excellent patient care and clinical support wherever needed.”
Prad said she was, “beyond honored and grateful to have received the 2022 Ambulatory Clinical Nursing Excellence award. Being a healthcare worker is extremely special to me. I take pride in helping people, whether it’s a patient, peer or stranger. Being recognized by UAB leadership as well as my peers is such a special feeling.”
Irfan Asif, M.D., professor and chair of the Department of Family Medicine, associate dean for primary care and rural health, and director of UAB’s primary care service line, was thrilled to see several team members’ work recognized.
“We see and appreciate this excellent work every day in our department and I am so glad that it is being spotlighted for the wider UAB community,” Asif said. “I am excited for Shyla, Adrienne and Chinavia and thankful for what they bring to our department, our patients and our community."