Mary Carey, PhD, RN, CNS, FAHA has been named the "2012 Nurse of Distinction" for District I of the New York State Nurses Association and the Buffalo News.

This is the 19th year that District I of the New York State Nurses Association and The Buffalo News have co-sponsored the Nurse of Distinction Award. The award honors a RN who has made outstanding contributions to the nursing profession, has demonstrated leadership that provides a role model to inspire other nurses to improve, and participates in activities that foster a positive public image of nursing as a profession.

This year’s award will be presented to Mary Carey, PhD, RN, CNS, FAHA, Associate Professor of Nursing for her significant dedication to the education and advancement of nursing careers in her role as a professor of nursing at University at Buffalo School of Nursing. Dr. Carey has contributed extensively to the nursing profession through her teaching endeavors, research pursuits and community activities. Her research program has focused on improving cardiac monitoring using the electrocardiogram. Her research has improved the detection of myocardial ischemia in patients with heart disease.

Her ongoing work in the community has increased the visibility of nursing within WNY. Her NIH funded study to better understand why firefighters have twice the risk of  cardiovascular events as police officers is a shining example of her dedication to community research efforts.  The results of this project have been presented internationally and published in the Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing and Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.