SONHS Faculty Members Selected for American Academy of Nursing Fellowship

The University of Miami School of Nursing and Health Studies is pleased to announce that two of its faculty members, Drs. Johis Ortega, PhD, ARNP, ACNP-BC, ENP-BC, FNP-BC, and Steve Alves, PhD, CRNA, FNAP, have received the nursing profession’s highest honor.
They have been selected for fellowship status in the American Academy of Nursing, and will be inducted at a ceremony during the Academy’s annual conference which will take place in Washington, D.C. in October of 2016. The Academy is comprised of nurse leaders in education, management, practice, policy, and research. Academy fellows include hospital and government administrators, college deans, and renowned nurse scientists worldwide.

"I am delighted to welcome this superb cohort of talented clinicians, researchers, policy leaders, educators and executives as they join the ranks of the nation's leading nursing and health care thought leaders," said Academy President, Bobbie Berkowitz, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN. "We look forward to celebrating their accomplishments at our conference, and then working with them to advance the Academy's mission of transforming health policy and practice by applying our collective nursing knowledge."

The Academy’s highly selective criteria include evidence of significant contributions to nursing and health care, and sponsorship by two current Academy fellows. Applicants are reviewed by a panel of elected and appointed fellows, and selection is based on the extent the nominee's nursing career has influenced health policies and the public’s wellbeing.

“Selection for AAN fellowship is an amazing honor and a high point of my nursing career,” said Ortega, who was selected for his contributions to global nursing education capacity and workforce development, and for helping to develop the U.S. nurse practitioner role. “I look forward to the opportunity to join the Academy’s distinguished fellows in advancing health policy and practice through the nursing profession.”

Alves, who is recognized for his research on occupational stress and restrictive scope of practice in nurse anesthetists, said, “I am honored to have been selected as a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing; being recognized for my contributions by the Academy is clearly one of the highest accomplishments in my career. It is my belief that nursing practice, education and policy are interdependent and have shaped my role as a researcher, educator, and practitioner.”

Ortega and Alves will be formally inducted into the AAN on October 22nd, 2016 in Washington, D.C. As new fellows, they will be able to use the FAAN (Fellow of the American academy of Nursing) credentials after their name.