Nursing alum honored for service to trans community

Jeffrey Vu, an alum of the UCI Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing (‘09 BS, ‘14 MS) has been honored for his work with the transgender community with a prestigious employee award.

Vu, a nurse practitioner and the associate program director of the UCI Health Gender Diversity Program, earned the award for Respect in the 2021 UCI ARIISE Awards (Accountability, Respect, Integrity, Innovation, Service and Excellence). He also recently graduated from the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Executive Track/MBA Dual Degree Program at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing and Carey Business School.

Vu’s nomination letter makes it evident why he was selected for the honor:

“Jeffrey’s commitment to patient care and the LGBTQ community in Orange County began as a nursing student at UCI in 2013, when called on to volunteer for the first iteration of an LGBTQ clinic at the UCI Family Health Center in Santa Ana. In 2016, when it came time for UCI to have the first program dedicated to providing care to transgender and non-binary people, he was again at the forefront.”

‘We love what we do’

Today, Vu, along with endocrinologist and medical director Dr. Ajanta Naidu and program coordinator Brit Cervantes provide thoughtful care to transgender and gender expansive children, teens and adults. Cervantes also won an ARIISE award, Innovation, for their work with and dedication to the trans community.

“Our patients and their families entrust their personal futures in the Gender Diversity Program and I am so honored to be part of their journey,” Vu says. He credits his team with the program’s positive impact on LGBTQ+ individuals. 

“It comes easy to do this work because we get to witness patients grow into their fully actualized selves. We love what we do!”