Karen Hendrickson of Cape Girardeau was elected Wednesday president of the Missouri State Board of Nursing. Her term begins immediately.
Hendrickson, the assistant administrator and chief nursing officer at Southeast Missouri Hospital, was appointed to the board in 1993 by Gov. Mel Carnahan. She has served as secretary and vice president of the nine-member board since her appointment.
The board has statutory authority to regulate the state's 62,000 registered nurses, including certified nurse anesthetists and 22,000 licensed practical nurses.
Hendrickson has served as Southeast's chief nursing officer for 13 years. She is a graduate of the Barnes Hospital School of Nursing in St. Louis and has a bachelor's degree in nursing and a master's degree in psychological counseling from Southeast Missouri State University. She is pursuing her doctorate from the University of Memphis.
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