June 25, 2012 Nursing Dean Named Nurse Practitioner Fellow
Dean of Nursing Patricia McMullen has been inducted into the Fellows of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (FAANP).The American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) honored McMullen and 42 other FAANP inductees during the academy's 27th national conference June 22 in Orlando, Fla. The FAANP program recognizes nurse practitioner leaders who have made outstanding contributions to national and global health care through clinical practice, research, education, or policy.McMullen, who has served as nursing dean since 2010, has also worked as an obstetrical/gynecological nurse practitioner in Annapolis, Md., since 1997. At Catholic University, she served as associate provost for academic administration from 2008 to 2010 and as associate professor and associate dean for academic affairs in the School of Nursing from 2003 to 2008.Between 1994 and 2003, McMullen served as associate professor and acting associate dean chair of the Graduate School of Nursing, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Department of Veterans Affairs/Department of Defense Nurse Practitioner Distance Learning Program, Bethesda, Md. She served as assistant professor/instructor at the University of Maryland School of Nursing in Baltimore from 1981 to 1994.McMullen earned a Ph.D. in nursing, 2003, at Catholic University; an Obstetrical/Gynecological Nurse Practitioner Certificate, 1994, at the University of Maryland School of Nursing; a J.D., 1986, at the University of Baltimore School of Law; an M.S. in Maternal-Child Health Nursing, 1981, at the University of Maryland School of Nursing; and a B.S.N., 1975, at the University of Maryland School of Nursing.The AANP website describes the fellows as "visionaries" who hold an annual think tank to strategize about the future of nurse practitioners and health care.Founded in 1985, the AANP is the largest, full-service national professional organization for nurse practitioners of all specialties, representing the interests of the approximately 150,000 nurse practitioners around the country. The organization continually advocates for the active role of nurse practitioners as providers of high-quality, cost-effective health care. The FAANP program was established in 2000.
Established in 1935, Catholic University's School of Nursing offers undergraduate, master's, D.N.P., and Ph.D. programs. The school's academic programs have long provided outstanding nursing education that clearly emphasizes the role of ethics, values, and spirituality in health care. Students in CUA's nursing programs gain clinical experience in more than 80 of the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area's premier health care facilities, often with alumni preceptors. The research-intensive Ph.D. program and the evidence-based clinical D.N.P. program both offer easy access to premier research and health facilities, including the National Institutes of Health and the Institute of Medicine. The academic programs consistently receive national recognition for excellence, attesting to the strength of the school's programs and faculty.