Dr. Nancy Stead Atwood, a Gainesville resident, has been recognized for Outstanding Professional Achievement by her alma mater, the National Cathedral School in Washington, D.C.

The award, presented at a May 6 ceremony at the school, recognizes Stead for her career as a medical doctor and patient advocate.

She established an oncology, hematology and internal medicine practice in Gainesville in 1991. Her practice later merged with the oncology practice of Dr. James Butts at the Northeast Georgia Diagnostic Clinic in 2000.

After graduating from NCS in 1962, Stead earned her medical degree from Duke University in Durham, N.C.

She previously worked at Massachusetts General Hospital and Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, as well as serving on the medical faculty at Duke for six years and the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta for eight years.

Since retiring, Stead has become a patient advocate and ethics watchdog in the profession of health care. She educates consumers through her website steadfasthealthcare.com.