From improving operating room conditions to aiding disaster relief in the Caribbean, advanced practice registered nurse Marie O. Etienne, DNP ’10, has drawn high praise for her exceptional service leadership and social innovation.
She made history this past September when she became the first Black president of the 118-year-old Florida Nurses Association, representing over 440,000 nurses throughout the state. At the national level, she serves as a member of the 2023-24 American Nurses Association’s National Commission to Address Racism in Nursing.
Dr. Etienne, who began her nursing career in the 1990s and started teaching in 1997, has a long history of helping underserved populations and empowering others to succeed. She is a tenured full professor of nursing at Miami Dade College Benjamín Léon School of Nursing and the Stanley G. Tate and Family Endowed Teaching Chair for Excellence in Academia.
In 2010, while completing her Doctor of Nursing Practice degree at SONHS, a magnitude 7 earthquake devastated her home country of Haiti. In its aftermath, she volunteered with the health care response efforts of the UM-affiliated nonprofit group Project Medishare. Her prominence in the Haitian community was solidified in 2011, when she became the first inductee into the Haitian-American Wall of Fame.
Dr. Etienne, a member of the Medical Reserve Corps of the Florida Department of Health in Miami-Dade County, has coordinated medical missions to the neighboring Dominican Republic, and she is among the just over 30 recipients nationwide of the International Red Cross’s Florence Nightingale Medal, awarded for exceptional courage and devotion to the wounded, sick, or civilian victims of a conflict or natural disaster.
More recently, in 2019, she founded Global Innovative Foundation (GIF), a nonprofit dedicated to raising awareness of crime prevention and empowering survivors of human trafficking, domestic violence, and gun violence through support, education, and scholarships.
As FNA president, she travels Florida tirelessly, advocating for nurses and their patients. During “Advocacy Days,” she led a contingent to Tallahassee to meet with legislators on issues affecting the profession. She also took part in the National Black Nurses Association (NBNA) Black Nurses Day on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., themed “Black Nurses: A Call for Transformative Health Equity Globally.”
One issue she and the FNA presented on at a recent Miami-Dade County Legislative Delegation hearing is the Protection from Surgical Smoke Bill, referring to smoke generated by lasers and electrosurgical units. “FNA will continue to advocate for smoke evacuation law to protect nurses and patients until this bill is officially passed in Tallahassee,” she said.
In addition to serving as FNA president, Dr. Etienne is president of the board of directors for the Haitian Alliance Nurses Association International (HANA-I), founding president of the Alpha Beta Epsilon chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nurses, chair of the Haitian American Faith-Based Network, Inc., first elected chair of the City of North Miami Commission of Women, and elected member of the National Black Nurses Association board of directors.
In March, the Health Foundation of South Florida named her one of its 2024 Inspiring Women of Health, extraordinary trailblazers dedicated to advancing health equity. Other recent accolades include her 2022 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Black Nurses Association’s Miami Chapter, 2023 Spirit of Community Award from the Florida Commission on the Status of Women, and DAISY Lifetime Achievement Award for compassionate care.
In addition to being a certified family, pediatric, and gerontological nurse practitioner, as well as a professional legal nurse consultant, Dr. Etienne is an ordained pastor with an honorary doctorate in ministry. She attributes her calling to values her mother and grandmother instilled in her and to the kindness and compassion shown by nuns during her upbringing. “Whether it's providing free Pap smears for the homeless population, mentoring other nurses, or offering free access to care for vulnerable populations, the opportunity to serve, especially marginalized or vulnerable communities, brings immense joy,” she has said.
