School of Nursing Honors Distinguished Alumni

The School of Nursing recently honored past students during its annual Distinguished Alumni Banquet. This year’s distinguished alumni are: Jeff Watson, MSN, R.N., Leadership in Health Care; Hillery Quintanilla, BSN, R.N., Excellence in Clinical Care; and Tamara Bavousett, DNP, R.N., C-PNP, Community Advocacy Award.

Tamara Bavousett

Bavousett received her DNP in 2010. In addition to her work at Compass Pediatrics, she is a pediatric consultant for Home Hospice of West Texas as well as adjunct faculty in the School of Nursing. She is also active in the Advanced Practice Nurses of the Permian Basin and is working with Medical Center Hospital on a medical home model.

In 2007, Bavousett began the Ronald McDonald House Charities Care Mobile Program in Odessa. She developed the mobile pediatric clinic and serves as the nurse practitioner, having seen more than 3,000 patients since the inception. She also offers services at the Teen Parent Center, providing care and support to the young mothers and their children.

Bavousett is a preceptor for School of Nursing family nurse practitioner and pediatric nurse practitioner students as well as a board member of the West Texas Health Information Technology Regional Extension Center.

Hillery Quintanilla

Quintanilla received her BSN in 1998 and is the director for nursing education at UMC Health System. While working on her BSN, Quintanilla was employed with UMC Health System as a pediatric nurse aide, nurse tech and LVN. After graduation, she was promoted to charge nurse in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.

Quintanilla was also asked by the School of Nursing to become a faculty associate to teach clinical classes to undergraduate students. She also served as a pediatric preceptor. Her current duties include acting as Training Center coordinator for the American Heart Association and Approved Provider Unit director for UMC's continuing nursing education applications.

Jeff Watson

Watson, director of the medical-surgical unit at UMC Health System, received his MSN in 2010. His daily practice focuses on supporting nursing staff to provide high quality evidence-based care for all patients and looking out for the greater good of the hospital system.

He pioneered a music therapy program at UMC. The hospital now has a trio of flautists who come in once a month to play music from the ‘30s, ‘40s and ‘50s.

Watson has also improved the nursing unit’s patient safety record by using patient safety tracers in areas like medication administration, hand washing and patient handoff.

Watson is president of the Texas Nurses Association District 18 and has served as first vice president and program chair for the organization’s District 18 members.