Pamela Lambert Honored with Nurse Educator Award

Pamela Lambert, MSN, MBA, RN, CRRN, CHSE, nursing education and professional development leader at Brooks Rehabilitation, has been recognized by the Association of Rehabilitation Nurses (ARN) as the 2025 Nurse Educator Award recipient. This national honor celebrates nurse educators who make outstanding contributions to teaching, mentoring and shaping the next generation of rehabilitation nurses.

A visionary leader with more than a decade of experience in healthcare, Lambert is the founder of Brooks Rehabilitation’s Transition to Practice Program, accredited by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission (ANCC) on Practice Transition Accreditation Programs (PTAP). The program reflects her unique ability to merge clinical excellence with innovative instructional design to prepare newly licensed nurses for real-world practice.

She champions innovative, holistic and data-informed educational models that prepare nurses for real-world clinical excellence. “They’re moving from an academic setting as a student nurse to a setting where suddenly our patients depend on them, which is a big responsibility. We want to ensure they are as prepared as possible by providing a dynamic, interactive and diverse professional learning experience,” Lambert explained.

Lambert designed the residency program around the Brooks Interdisciplinary Practice Model, which places patients and families at the center of care. The residency is a structured, immersive learning experience that supports a precepted clinical orientation alongside the support of selected mentors.

The program is highly regarded for its holistic support of nurses, immersive clinical training and unique experimental learning components. Those include a patient safety escape room, mock trials and visits to various Brooks community program locations. Since its inception in 2022, 75 newly licensed nurses have completed the program.

Lambert recently developed the Brooks Bridges to Healing program, which provides evidence-based medical actor training and helps aging adults learn purposeful new skills while fostering wellness across generations.

Beyond her leadership at Brooks, Lambert is a sought-after speaker at national and international conferences, where she brings insight, innovation and her signature spark to conversations on professional development, ethical education delivery and inclusive learning cultures.

In the academic setting, she collaborates with faculty throughout Florida to shape nursing curricula and mentor new nurse educators. As a member of the Nurse Well-Being Advisory Board, she champions mental health support for nurses statewide, underscoring the critical connection between caregiver well-being and patient outcomes.

When she’s not advancing nursing education, Lambert enjoys golfing, supporting the arts and discovering hidden gems across the country.

You can watch Pamela Lambert be recognized at the ARN’s first-ever virtual Awards and Scholarships Ceremony on Wednesday, September 17, at 1 p.m. EST. Register here.