Two faculty members from the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing earned prestigious accolades at the 2025 conference for the Pennsylvania Association of Nurse Anesthetists (PANA).
Kerry Quisenberry, DNP, CRNA, assistant professor and vice chair for administration in the Department of Nurse Anesthesia, and Laura Wiggins, DNP, CRNA (Lt. Col – retired), assistant professor, were honored with two of the organization’s major awards.
Quisenberry was honored with the Didactic Instructor of the Year Award. For more than two decades, she has built a career out of empowering students to reach their fullest potential. She has been instrumental in leading a large-scale series of evaluations that measure student performance in clinical settings from the students’ time at Pitt Nursing through their first year of employment.
In recognizing the importance of student wellness, Quisenberry developed a one-credit wellness course, which has become a staple of the Nurse Anesthesia Program. She teaches a myriad of subjects in the program, preparing students for advanced material and assisting them with their DNP projects.
Not only a dedicated faculty leader, Quisenberry is an active contributor to the national nurse anesthesia community. She is a section editor and item writer for APEX Anesthesia Review, a leading board preparation resource used by programs nationwide to help students succeed on the National Certification Examination (NCE). She shares her expertise as a national speaker in the fields of anesthesia education, student wellness and professional development.
Quisenberry’s influence continues to shape not only the student experience at Pitt Nursing but also the broader trajectory of excellence in nurse anesthesia education.
Quisenberry and Wiggins are also collaborators, working together on advanced practice courses.
“I feel that being surrounded by successful, knowledgeable and highly motivated individuals helps me to be a successful, knowledgeable, and highly motivated individual,” Wiggins said.
Wiggins was honored with the CRNA of the Year Award. She earned this award through her work as an educator and as a clinician, both as a preceptor and faculty member, with more than 24 years of clinical anesthesia experience. She has served as the president of PANA, program director of the OB Critical Scenario Course at WISER and chair of the Continuing Education Committee for the American Association of Nurse Anesthesiologists (AANA). Wiggins held the office of PANA President in 2022-2023. Prior to that, she served as the Federal Political Director of PANA for six consecutive years. Wiggins is also one of the program directors for the Pittsburgh CRNA Symposium.
In large part through her military service, Wiggins cultivated an impressive history of experience as a CRNA. She served in the United States Air Force (USAF) from 1990-2018. During that time, she also served as a member of the Critical Care Air Transport Team (CCATT). She served as the Chief Nurse Executive of the 911th Aeromedical Staging Squadron in Pittsburgh. Wiggins was previously recognized as “Key Personnel for the USAF Reserves,” which constitutes only the top three percent of the USAFR Officer Corps.
“My military service has helped me be a better advocate for my patients and my colleagues,” Wiggins said, reflecting on her time as a veteran CRNA. “Leadership is the one skill that has allowed me to motivate myself, motivate others, set direction, make positive changes, increase self-awareness, build team confidence and draw strength from adversity.”
Wiggins continues to be recognized for her outstanding efforts. In 2022, she was awarded the AANA Daniel D. Vigness Federal Political Director Award for her advocacy efforts for CRNAs during the COVID-19 global pandemic.
It is a direct result of the efforts of faculty such as Quisenberry and Wiggins that in 2025 the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing DNP Program, Nurse Anesthesia area of concentration is ranked No. 2 in the nation by U.S. News & World Report Best Graduate School rankings and is the top non-military school in the nation.