The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) announces nursing leadership positions, including a new president of the AACN board of directors. A nurse Navy captain has been awarded a leadership honor. A biweekly podcast features experts who share teaching strategies to be used when teaching nursing students. Read on for more nursing news and insights.
AACN names nursing leadership positions
The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) has announced officer positions, including a new president of the board of directors and returning chairperson of its certification board.
Beth Wathen, MSN, RN, CCRN-K, has been named the new president of the AACN board of directors. A pediatric nurse for 35 years, Wathen is currently a clinical practice specialist in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) at Children’s Hospital Colorado, Aurora, where she has practiced since 2005. Wathen also oversees the PICU’s Quality Program and serves as organizational lead for the Code/RRT Program, Sepsis Task Force, and nursing lead for the Clinical and Operational Effectiveness Committee.
Amanda Bettencourt, PhD, APRN, CCRN-K, ACCNS-P, begins a one-year term as president-elect. She is an assistant professor in the Department of Family and Community Health at University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. Current board member Paula Levett, MS, RN, CCRN-K, begins a one-year term as secretary. She is a nursing practice leader in the PICU at University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital in Iowa City.
Rose Hata, DNP, MBA, RN, APRN, CCRN-K, CCNS, NEA-BC, also a current board member, begins a one-year term as treasurer. With more than 19 years of nursing experience, she is currently director of Queen Emma Nursing Institute at The Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu.
Joining the board as directors on three-year terms are Joseph Falise, MSN, RN, CCRN-CSC; Veronica Gurule, MSN, BSN, RN, CCRN; Janet Mulroy, DNP, MSN, ACNP, CCNS, CCRN; and Tonka Williams, MHA, BSN, RN, CMSRN.
Falise is nurse manager in the Cardiovascular ICU and the Neuroscience ICU at University of Miami Hospital and Clinics, Miami. He previously served as director of the hospital’s professional development department.
An experienced pediatric intensive care/cardiac intensive care nurse and adult cardiac intensive care leader, Gurule is manager of the Cardiovascular ICU at Medical City in Fort Worth, TX.
Mulroy is an acute care nurse practitioner at Threlkeld, Threlkeld & Omer Infectious Disease Associates, in Memphis, TN. During her 40 years as a nurse, she has been a staff nurse, staff development educator, and academic faculty.
Williams is nursing director of Medicine and Nursing Nutrition Support at VCU Health, Richmond, VA, where she oversees the acute/progressive care nursing medicine units, an ambulatory incarcerated medicine clinic and the nursing nutrition support team.
Returning to the AACN board with Dana Woods, MBA, AACN chief executive officer, are also the following directors:
- Jennifer Adamski, DNP, APRN, ACNP-BC, CCRN, FCCM, clinical assistant professor and director of the Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (ACNP) Program at Emory University’s Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Atlanta, GA, and a critical care ACNP for Cleveland Clinic’s Critical Care Flight Team. She also serves a second concurrent one-year term on the AACN Certification Corporation board.
- John Gallagher, DNP, RN, CCNS, CCRN-K, TCRN, RRT, professor in the school of nursing at the University of Pittsburgh and an adviser/clinical nurse specialist for the Trauma Program at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center in Philadelphia, PA.
- Alvin Jeffery, PhD, RN-BC, CCRN-K, FNP-BC; assistant professor of nursing and biomedical informatics at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN.
- Rebekah Marsh, BSN, RN, CCRN, clinical nurse educator, acute care/telemetry, at Harborview Medical Center, University of Washington Medicine, Seattle.
- Katie Schatz, MSN, ARNP, NP-C, ACHPN, sepsis program coordinator at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Holy Family Hospital, both in Spokane, WA. She is also a palliative care nurse practitioner and serves a concurrent one-year term on the AACN Certification Corporation board of directors.
Lisa Falcón, MSN, RN, TCRN, NE-BC, continues as chair of the AACN Certification Corporation board of directors for the second year of her two-year term. She is director of trauma and injury prevention at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, New Brunswick, NJ.
Read the full news release about the AACN Certification Corp. board of directors.
Unlock unlimited CE with Elite Nursing Passport Membership.
Nurse Navy captain awarded leadership honor
Captain Andrea Petrovanie-Green, MSN, RN, AMB-BC, has been awarded the 2021 Captain Joy Bright Hancock and Master Chief Anna Der-Vartanian Leadership Award by the U.S. Naval Administration.
The award recognizes active and reserve Navy officers and enlisted service members for their work on establishing healthy, inclusive, team-oriented environments and for visionary and inspirational leadership.
Petrovanie-Green is senior officer, Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command, Pearl Harbor, HI, serving as head of quality management at the Naval Health Clinic. She resides in Honolulu, HI, and also sits on the Board of Directors for the American Academy of Ambulatory Care Nursing (AAACN).
According to the Navy, Petrovanie-Green serves as head of quality management for Naval Health Clinic Pearl Harbor Hawaii. She is a visionary leader who, shortly after reporting onboard, identified a need to connect with junior Sailors due to the unique challenges with the COVID-19 health crisis.
She established a mentoring group #StrongerTogether and leveraged technology to connect female sailors to engage in conversations on self-care, suicide, isolation, mental health, sexual harassment, work-life balance, and other personal and professional issues promoting readiness and reinforcing the integral role of women in the Navy.
As the public affairs officer of the National Naval Officers Association (NNOA), Jacksonville Chapter, she established a group of 20 active-duty volunteers to serve as Big Brothers and Big Sisters for the Mayor’s Mentor Program. She served as a role model and tutored young girls during their after-school program and coordinated visits and donations to the Saint Francis homeless shelter for women and children.
She established a mentoring group of 22 female Navy nurses to promote career management and personal and professional goals and created “Brunch with Senior Officers” in the Maryland and Washington, DC area to speak on leadership, career opportunities, work-life balance, and to share their experiences with challenges and opportunities in their careers.
Petrovanie-Green also worked with local recruiters and spoke to Howard University School of Nursing and George Washington University NROTC students on career opportunities in the Navy for women, mentored young girls and boys on careers in nursing, and was recognized by George Washington University for contributions impacting students attending the summer health services program for disadvantaged youths.
Expand your impact with advanced courses on nursing leadership.
Podcast spotlight: Nurse Educator Podcast
New and experienced nurse educators will learn new ideas for their approaches to teaching in this biweekly podcast. Each episode features experts who share teaching strategies to be used when teaching nursing students.
Recent episodes include “Using IHI Open Educational Resources for DNP Courses,” “Writing a Diversity and Inclusivity Statement: Guidelines for Nursing Programs,” and “Teaching in Accelerated Nursing Programs & Organizational Commitment.”
The podcast is available online.
Views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of Elite Learning or Colibri Group. Media referenced in this news round-up does not constitute an endorsement.
