Shannon Hankins is a certified Adult Gerontology–Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AG-ACNP) for the Urology Department at UAMS. A native Arkansan, she received a nursing diploma from Baptist Health College in 2003 and began working as a RN staff nurse at Baptist Health Medical Center in both vascular and med-surg areas. To pursue her interests in the field of surgery, she transitioned to a clinical role for a general and bariatric surgeon at The Surgical Clinic of Central Arkansas in 2006 and went on to become one of the first Certified Bariatric Nurses in the US. In 2016, she joined the UAMS team, and the same year completed her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. While at UAMS, Shannon has worked on the cardio-vascular/cardio-thoracic progressive care unit as well as in the operating room, where she served as an OR charge nurse. In 2023 she earned her Master of Science in Nursing from Walden University, her AG-ACNP certification from the American Nurses Credentialing Center and began work as an APRN in the UAMS Urology Department. With over 18 years experience working in and around the operating room, she serves as a surgical first assist for the Urology Department in addition to assisting the team with management of patients admitted to the hospital. Shannon is a member of the American Nurses Association and the Arkansas Nurses Association. When not working, Shannon enjoys spending time with her family in the outdoors and on the lake, reading, and working on various craft and home improvement projects.