Three WSU faculty named fellows of the American Academy of Nursing

portraits of Shelly Fritz, Renee Hoeksel, Kawkab Shishani
The three College of Nursing faculty named Fellows of the American Academy of Nursing are (l-r): Dr. Roschelle (Shelly) Fritz; Dr. Renee Hoeksel; and Dr. Kawkab Shishani.

 

Three Washington State University College of Nursing faculty will be inducted as Fellows of the American Academy of Nursing this fall.

They are among 230 nurse leaders from around the world who are being recognized for their significant contributions to health and health care.

“Being named a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN) is one of the most prestigious honors in nursing education,” said Dr. Mary Koithan, Dean of the WSU College of Nursing. “This year WSU has three faculty who are being honored, a record for the College of Nursing and an indication of our faculty’s influence on the discipline and profession of nursing. Coug nurse faculty are making a significant impact on the nation’s health and improving the quality of care delivered across the globe.”

The faculty who will be inducted during this year’s virtual ceremony in late October are:

  • Dr. Roschelle (Shelly) Fritz, Assistant Professor at the WSU College of Nursing in Vancouver.

Dr. Fritz’s research uses sensor-based smart-health technologies in the home to monitor health changes. She developed the Fritz Method, a consistent way for clinicians to provide real-world context to big data – information that’s used to develop machine-learning models that can recognize and predict significant health changes in older adults. Her work has been highlighted by computer science, nursing and methods journals, and she is a Fellow of the National Science Foundation’s Integrative Graduate Education Research and Training program as well as an advisor to multiple health technology startups nationally and internationally.

  • Dr. Renee Hoeksel, Professor Emeritus at the WSU College of Nursing in Vancouver.

Dr. Hoeksel’s 30-year career at Washington State University has focused on developing programs and policies to enhance academic progression for working registered nurses. Through collaboration with other educational institutions she led the transformation of RN-to-BSN education across Washington. She also helped create accessible, affordable, high-quality educational programs to promote academic progression across seven western states. Dr. Hoeksel has also played an important role as a college administrator, enlarging nursing faculty capacity through grants and mentorship of future nurse educators, especially those from diverse and under-represented backgrounds.

  • Dr. Kawkab Shishani, Associate Professor at the WSU College of Nursing in Spokane.

Dr. Shishani is an international leader in the study of waterpipe tobacco smoking, having begun her research career with epidemiological studies on tobacco use in Jordan. She completed the first U.S. study about treating waterpipe tobacco addiction. She has trained hundreds of nursing students, nurses, physicians and pharmacists around the world on smoking cessation counseling. Globally and locally, she mentors international prospective students and makes regular presentations about Islamophobia.

Fellows of the American Academy of Nursing are chosen through a competitive process and are selected based on their contributions to advance public health through individual and organizational initiatives and life-long commitment to healthcare leadership.

Said Academy President Eileen Sullivan-Marx, “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.”

These faculty members join Drs. Mel Haberman, Mary Koithan, Louise Kaplan, Tracy Klein, Janet Katz and Elizabeth Schenk at WSU who hold current membership in the Academy.

Dean Koithan commented, “These three new AAN fellows, as well as the continuing members of the Academy, are actively engaged in changing health care. This honor recognizes the significant contributions of our faculty to education, public health and science as well as their expertise in nursing and healthcare delivery. Their induction to the Academy brings with it an expectation that their contributions will continue well into the future.”

–Story by Addy Hatch

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