Two faculty members affiliated with the University of Miami School of Nursing and Health Studies (SONHS) have been selected for induction by the American Academy of Nursing (Academy).

Internationally renowned health economist Felicia Marie Knaul, PhD, MA, is being recognized as an Honorary Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing (Academy). At the University of Miami, Knaul is a professor at the Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, director of the Institute for Advanced Study of the Americas, and a full member of the Cancer Control Program at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. She has a secondary appointment at the School of Nursing and Health Studies (SONHS), where she collaborates with faculty on the Lancet Commission on Gender-based Violence and Maltreatment of Young People and other projects.  

Knaul has dedicated more than three decades to academic, advocacy, and policy work in global health at the highest levels with a focus on reducing inequities and improving the condition of vulnerable groups globally, with a particular focus in Latin America and the Caribbean.       

According to the Academy, Knaul’s honorary title distinction is presented for “extraordinary and sustained contributions to promote nursing and advance health care,” and in particular her efforts to reduce inequities and improve palliative care for vulnerable groups globally through the use of her innovative research methods and strong commitment to social justice and social development.

Invitation to Academy fellowship is one of the highest recognitions bestowed in the nursing profession. Honorary Academy fellowships are a distinction given only to top health leaders and visionaries who, like Knaul, are true champions of science, innovation, and leadership—signature initiatives of the Academy.

In August, the Academy announced its selection of another SONHS faculty member, Mary E. Mckay, DNP, APRN, CNE, associate professor of clinical and Wallace Gilroy Endowed Chair, for induction as a Fellow of the Academy. Mckay’s FAAN nomination highlights her contributions to nursing education and patient safety as exemplified by the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization nurse educator program she led development of in the Cooperative Republic of Guyana.

With her entry into the Academy’s 225-member Class of 2021, Mckay joins prior SONHS inductees Rosina Cianelli, PhD, MPH, RN, FAAN; Joseph De Santis, PhD, APRN, ACRN, FAAN; Cynthia L. Foronda, PhD, RN, CNE, CHSE, ANEF, FAAN; Cindy L. Munro, PhD, RN, ANP-BC, FAAN, FAANP, FAAAS; and Johis Ortega, PhD, APRN, ACNP-BC, ENP-BC, FNP-BC, FAAN.

Both Mckay and Knaul, who is also a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, will have their achievements recognized at the official induction ceremony, to be held during the Academy’s 2021 Hybrid Health Policy Conference, October 7 to 9.

“We are so proud that the American Academy of Nursing has chosen to honor two phenomenal health leaders affiliated with our School this year,” says Dean and Professor Cindy L. Munro, PhD, RN, ANP-BC, FAAN, FAANP, FAAAS. “Dr. Knaul and Dr. Mckay could not be more deserving of this prestigious distinction for their contributions to improving health for all and achieving health equity.”

Written by SONHSNews

Published on September 21, 2021