Two faculty and two alumnae selected as fellows of AAN
Two distinguished faculty members from the College of Nursing, as well as two outstanding alumnae, have been selected by the American Academy of Nursing (AAN) to join its Class of 2017 fellows. Fellowship in the AAN is considered the highest honor in the nursing profession.
UIC Nursing Reception at AAN Conference: We will celebrate these accomplished women at a reception on Friday, Oct. 6, 2017, during AAN's annual policy conference at which they will be officially inducted. All conference attendees are invited to attend.
The faculty members are:
Lorna Finnegan, BSN '80, MS '88, PhD '03, RN
Executive associate dean and associate professor of health systems science
Dr. Finnegan has integrated innovative big-data analytics, strategic academic-practice partnerships, creative pedagogies, and policy-changing leadership strategies in order to improve high-quality, accessible and cost-effective primary care for vulnerable and underserved populations. Her research and theoretical framework guide development of practice models to address multiple determinants of health. She is currently president-elect of the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties, and her leadership has advanced NP educational policy and scope of practice. Her integrative work has improved access to care and health outcomes and enhanced NP practice-readiness and PhD research-readiness.
Catherine Ryan, PhD '03, RN, APN, CCRN, FAHA
Clinical associate professor of biobehavioral health science
Dr. Ryan's innovative research demonstrating that symptoms in cardiovascular diseases could be identified and examined in clusters has been widely embraced by other researchers studying symptoms for a variety of cardiovascular conditions. In short has catalyzed other researchers to examine and describe symptoms differently. She created a joint appointment between the College of Nursing and the University Medical Center that is both innovative and unique because it provides a direct connection to advance EBP within the educational enterprise and the practice environment and facilitates collaboration between the college and hospital staff.
We also celebrate two alumnae named to the 2017 class:
Beth Marks, PhD '96, RN
Research associate professor of disability and human development, UIC College of Applied Health Sciences
Dr. Marks leads HealthMattersTM, a program which engages community and academic partners to implement health-promoting policies and practices for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. She is immediate past president of the National Organization of Nurses with Disabilities, where she directed efforts to ameliorate barriers to nursing education and practice for people with disabilities.
Julee Waldrop, MS '91, DNP, PNP, FAANP
Professor of Nursing, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Dr. Waldrop has led the development of innovative practice and education models that support the full scope of nurse practitioner practice. She is co-author of Best Practices for Flipping the College Classroom, published last year. She has been recognized by NONPF with the Outstanding Faculty Practice Award and is a fellow of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners.
We are also happy to note these additional fellows in the Class of 2017:
Lola Coke, PhD, ACNS-BC, RN-BC, FAHA, FPCNA, completed a postdoctoral fellowship in biobehavioral health science at UIC Nursing. She is now associate professor in the Department of Adult Health and Gerontological Nursing at Rush University.
Marianne Ditomassi, RN, DNP, MBA, NEA-BC, is executive director of nursing and patient care services operations at Massachusetts General Hospital. She is a member of our extended family, having earned her MBA at UIC.