Pam Parsons selected as an American Academy of Nursing Fellow
A VCU School of Nursing faculty member will receive one of the most prestigious honors in nursing this fall when she is inducted into the American Academy of Nursing.
Pam Parsons, Ph.D., GNP-BC, FNAP, associate professor and associate dean of practice and community engagement, is among 230 highly distinguished nurse leaders nationwide selected to join the Academy 2020 Class of Fellows. The inductees will be recognized for their significant contributions to health and health care at the Academy’s annual Transforming Health, Driving Policy Conference, taking place virtually October 29-31, 2020.
“I am honored to welcome this exceptional class to the American Academy of Nursing. Their work, across many fields of expertise, exemplifies the power of nursing knowledge in creating meaningful change,” said Academy President Eileen Sullivan-Marx, Ph.D., RN, FAAN. “As a policy organization, we strive to improve health and achieve health equity through nursing leadership, innovation, and science. Growing the Academy’s Fellowship bolsters our collective strength and further enables us to meet our policy priorities. Now, more than ever, our collaboration is critical and I am excited to congratulate this dynamic class of Fellows during the International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife.”
The newest Fellows represent 39 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. territory of Guam, as well as 13 countries. The Academy is currently comprised of more than 2,700 nursing leaders who are experts in policy, research, administration, practice, and academia that champion health and wellness, locally and globally.
Parsons, who is the Judith B. Collins and Joseph M. Teefey Distinguished Professor, serves as project director of the Richmond Health and Wellness Program – an interprofessional collaborative practice that seeks to improve health outcomes in vulnerable older adults and disabled adults residing in low-income housing settings.
“I can’t think of anyone more deserving of this recognition than Dr. Parsons,” said Jean Giddens, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, professor and dean of the VCU School of Nursing. “She continues to find innovative ways to address health disparities among the city’s most vulnerable residents, while creating opportunities for our students to engage in these solutions.”
Parsons serves as co-chair of the VCU Health Equity Strategic Planning Steering Committee and co-leads the VCU iCubed Health and Wellness in Aging Populations Research Core. In addition to being published in various publications, she has focused her research and has presented extensively nationwide on models of care targeting chronically ill older adults and vulnerable populations in the community.
Parsons has also served on an urban institute policy roundtable focused on housing services and older adults and has been a content expert for the American Nurses Credentialing Center Adult-Gerontological Certification Exam. She has been recognized with numerous awards, including the Health Quality Innovator of the Year Award, Patient Centered Care in 2018 and the Virginia Commonwealth University Currents of Change Award for the Richmond Health and Wellness Program in 2018.
Parsons joins several VCU nursing faculty members who have already been recognized as AAN fellows. They include Dean Jean Giddens; Debra Barksdale, Ph.D., FNP-BC, CNE, FAANP, FAAN; professor and associate dean of academic affairs; Beth Rodgers, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, professor; Michael Bleich, Ph.D., RN, FNAP, FAAN, senior professor and director of the Langston Center for Innovation in Quality and Safety; Nancy Jallo, Ph.D., RNC, FNP-BC, WHNP-BC, CNS, FAAN; associate professor; Patricia Kinser, Ph.D., RN, WHNP-BC, FNAP (B.S.’03/N; M.S. ’04/N), FAAN, associate professor; and Theresa Swift Scanlan, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, associate professor.
The following faculty emeriti are also fellows: Nancy Langston, Ph.D., RN, FAAN; Mary Jo Grap, Ph.D., RN, ACNP, FAAN; Judith B. Collins, RN, WHNP-BC, FAAN (Cert.’75/N); Nancy McCain, Ph.D., RN, FAAN; Barbara Munjas, Ph.D., RN, FAAN; Debra Lyon, Ph.D., RN, FAAN; Cindy Munro, RN, ANP-BC, FAAN, FAANP, FAAAS (Ph.D.’92/N; Cert.’97/N); Gloria Francis, Ph.D., M.S., M.A., FAAN; Kathleen Sawin, Ph.D., CPNP-PC, FAAN; Inez Tuck, Ph.D., RN, M.B.A., M.Div., FAAN; Deborah McGuire, Ph.D., RN, FAAN; and Rita Pickler, Ph.D., RN, PNP, APRN, BC, FAAN.
