Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions (RMUoHP) is pleased to announce the 2020 Outstanding Alumni Award Winner: Mimi Secor, DNP, FNP-BC, FAANP, FAAN.
Secor is a 2015 graduate of the RMUoHP Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program. As a family nurse practitioner, Secor has worked for 43 years specializing in women’s health, and more recently health and fitness. Currently, Secor is a Senior Faculty with Advanced Practice Education Associates (APEA) in Lafayette, Louisiana, and is a Fellow in both the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) and the prestigious American Academy of Nursing (AAN).
Secor has written and published extensively on healthcare. Her academic publishing includes co-authoring two textbooks with new editions in 2018: Advanced Health Assessment of Women; Skills and Procedures, and Fast Facts About the Gynecologic Exam for Nurse Practitioners, PAs and Midwives (both by Springer Publishing). During her student years at RMUoHP, she decided to focus on her own health in addition to the health of others. After losing weight and becoming healthier, she began bodybuilding and in 2016, entered her first bodybuilding competition, making her debut at age 62. In 2018 she placed second in her fourth competition.
Her commitment to women’s health and her own fitness transformation inspired her to expand her work beyond academia and clinical practice. She empowers women across the globe through education and coaching in women’s health and fitness. Currently, she is in business with her daughter (a professional bodybuilder, trainer, and health coach) as “Coach Kat and Dr. Mimi,” helping women, especially Nurse Practitioners, to become healthy and fit. They offer a variety of online programs including a six-month intensive mentorship program. Her #1 international best-selling book (and new audiobook), Debut a New You: Transforming Your Life at Any Age further extended their coaching to a larger audience.
Nursing Department Chair and DNP Program Director Stephanie Richardson, PhD, RN, said, “Dr. Secor has published several peer-reviewed papers, all as the first author. She contributes to textbooks in this area, consistently and has positively impacted the health and well-being of men and women outside the nursing discipline, through her book. This book topped the national best-seller list in the popular non-fiction press for some weeks. In it, she invites the reader to join her in health and fitness improvement, using her own journey as the guide.”
Loretta C. Ford, EdD, PNP, FAAN, FAANP, Dean Emerita, University of Rochester, nurse practitioner, and the co-founder of the first nurse practitioner program says, “Secor’s stories are our stories. Her warm, easy conversational style offers us insight, inspires us, and even challenges us to examine our own behaviors, measure our strengths, face our weaknesses, and chart our journey to create our own culture of health and fitness.”
In addition to Secor’s varying accomplishments, she has received several awards including the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Massachusetts Coalition of Nurse Practitioners (MCNP) and the Student Service Award from RMUoHP, both for her contributions to the Nurse Practitioner profession.
Fellow DNP graduate, Barbara A. Spencer, DNP, MS, ANP-BC, ACHPN said, “NPs and NP students around the country know Dr. Mimi. Many know Mimi for her work with the Advanced Practice Education Associates (APEA). She is the Senior Faculty and featured presenter for APEA which is a review course designed for preparation for Family Nurse Practitioner and Adult-Gerontology Nurse Practitioner certification. The APEA review courses and materials present the latest evidence-based practice information and guidelines for the nurse practitioner student as well as nurse practitioner faculty. Dr. Mimi Secor demonstrates the ability to inspire and motivate both students and professionals. As an educator, she relies on evidence-based practice to teach NP students to successfully complete their certification exams. [Secor] continues to write and edit professionally and personally, and she credits RMUoHP for her continued academic achievements.”
The Outstanding Alumni Award is one of the highest honors an RMUoHP graduate can receive for distinguished contributions to his or her profession and for service to the University or community at large. Richardson said, “Secor has achieved excellence in teaching and scholarship on a national level. She has been recognized by her peers for her application of evidence-based practice principles, and her leadership.”
