Mary Therese Phelan
Like many twins, Janice Wilson and her sister, Janet — they both go by “Jan” — share a strong connection. As young girls, they shared toys, clothes, and a career goal: to become a nurse.
“We both knew as early as we can remember that we wanted to be nurses, we both wanted to make a difference,” says Janice Wilson, DNP ’09, MS ’94, BSN ’74, CRNP, NNP-BC, FAANP.
With that goal in mind, the sisters enrolled at the University of Maryland School of Nursing (UMSON), each earning a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree in 1974.
Having developed an interest in pediatrics during her senior practicum course, Janice Wilson spent a month in the neonatal intensive care unit at the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC), where she met neonatologist Ronald Gutberlet, MD, who became her mentor.
“That’s how I got interested in neonatal nursing. There weren’t too many, if any, neonatal nurse practitioner programs that were close by, so it took me another few years to get that education,” says Wilson, who enrolled in the first cohort of Georgetown University’s continuing education neonatal nurse practitioner program in 1990. When she was finished, Gutberlet offered her a full-time job as a neonatal nurse practitioner (NNP) at UMMC —officially making Wilson the first NNP in the state of Maryland.
“Most people didn’t know what the role was,” Wilson says. “It was a time when nurse practitioners were coming onto the scene and more visible, but neonatal nurse practitioners were not necessarily well understood or well accepted.”
Wilson returned to UMSON to earn her master’s degree in 1994 and then, pursuing another passion of hers, taught as a guest lecturer at the school in the Master of Science NNP program, eventually joining the faculty and becoming the program’s clinical coordinator.
“I almost became a grade-school teacher,” Wilson says. “I think learning is exciting and sharing that with students is priceless.”
Beginning in 2015, when the school launched its Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) NNP specialty, Wilson served as its director. She worked to grow the program, eventually graduating 28 NNPs over the course of her career. The NNP specialty continues to boast a 100 percent certification pass rate nearly every year.
Wilson left UMSON in December but continues to teach DNP project courses.
As a tribute to her dedicated service and devotion to UMSON, Wilson was selected to serve as the mace carrier at the school’s most recent December graduation ceremony, leading the procession of faculty and graduates.
“The biggest reward I have ever gotten and continue to get is from the students,” Wilson says. “I would miss the interaction with the students if I didn’t teach. It feeds your soul.”
Now, Wilson is looking forward to gardening. Incidentally, her younger sister, Jane, also became a nurse and is now retired.
“It’s funny, nobody else in the family was a nurse, but that’s what we all chose to do,” Wilson says.
