Richard Pan, associate professor of pediatrics to receive Lydia Smiley Award

California School Nurses Organization selects UC Davis Children’s Hospital pediatrician for award

SACRAMENTO, Calif.- —Richard Pan, associate professor of pediatrics at UC Davis Children’s Hospital, has been chosen to receive the Lydia Smiley Award from the California School Nurses Organization.

The award is given to an individual, other than a school nurse, who has supported school nurses and school nursing and who has made contributions to improving the health of children. Pan will receive the award at a luncheon on Thursday, March 5, at 12:30 p.m. at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Sacramento, during the organization’s annual conference.

Pan developed a protocol for the Sacramento City Unified School District to facilitate the diagnosis and treatment of students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. The process involved training school nurses to coordinate care and interventions between a student’s medical and educational teams.

Pan also established a partnership between the UC Davis pediatric residency program with school nurses at six elementary schools in the Sacramento City Unified School District to teach students a good nutrition curriculum.

A medical consultant to the school district, Pan provides in-service training to school nurses and has advocated for adequate school nurse staffing in public schools.

Pan, who also serves as interim pediatric residency director, founded Communities and Physicians Together, which educates resident physicians on working in the community to promote population-based health. As part of the program, UC Davis partners with nine community organizations in the Sacramento region to improve the health and well-being of their neighborhoods.

Lydia Smiley was a California school nurse who dedicated her career to school nursing and, through her estate, established the Lydia Smiley Award.