Local nurse ready to serve as first male president of American Nurses Association

"This is an extreme personal honor," said Ernest Grant who has a Ph.D. in nursing. "I feel very privileged, very blessed. I know that I stand on the shoulders of giants, people who have come before me."

Grant ran for the position and was elected, overwhelmingly, by his colleagues after serving as vice president of the organization, which represents the interests of more than 4 million nurses nationwide.

"It only seemed natural to take the next step and essentially break the glass ceiling," he said.

Grant will use his term to try to solve many issues he feels are hurting the nursing profession, including a potential nursing shortage.

"One of the things is getting them to see the nursing profession as a professional career," Grant said. "I think in the past people viewed nursing not necessarily as a profession."

He is also hoping to break stereotypes associated with being a male in nursing. He wants people to refer to him as a nurse, not as a "male nurse."

"I know that there will be a lot of eyes on me just to see how will the first male president of ANA, how successful will he be?" he said.

Grant is a recognized expert on burn care and is in charge of burn-care training for doctors, nurses and other health care professionals at the Jaycee Burn Center. He also teaches at the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Nursing.

In 2002, President George W. Bush gave Grant a Nurse of the Year Award for his work treating burn victims from the 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York.

He received his bachelor's degree from North Carolina Central University and his master's and doctorate from UNC-Greensboro.