Assistant Professor of Nursing Lisa Sundean, PhD, RN has received the Excellence in Policy Award from Nursing Outlook, the journal of the American Academy of Nursing.
Sundean’s article, “Nurses on Healthcare Governing Boards: An Integrative Review,” was published in 2017. This very competitive award is chosen from all articles in the journal for that particular year. The decision is made by a panel of experts, and there is no nomination process.
“This award is significant because it shines a spotlight on the national initiative to appoint more nurses to boards of directors to guide governance decisions that support improved healthcare that place people and populations at the forefront of the healthcare industry,” Sundean said.
The award was presented at the American Academy of Nursing Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. in October.
The article’s recommendations included more research about nurses on boards, including the best ways to prepare and educate nurses for board service, informing organization CEOs and board leaders about the value of nurses on boards, and encouraging these leaders to appoint nurses to boards. Sundean is currently conducting a funded qualitative study with a multi-university team from the Nurses on Boards Coalition to explore and describe the impact of nurses on boards from nurse board leaders.
Sundean has been exploring the topic of nurses serving on boards, while serving on boards of directors herself for the past 20 years. She is currently serving as an executive member of the board of the Connecticut League for Nursing, board chair of the Connecticut Center for Nursing Workforce, and member of the Board Quality Improvement Committee at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center. In addition, she is co-leader of the Impact Work Group for the Nurses on Boards Coalition.
She is also the faculty leader from the Department of Nursing for the Massachusetts Health Policy Forum, a multi-university program that aims to expose and inform graduate students about health policy in the Commonwealth. She serves as a mentor for nurse leaders in the Leadership Academy of the Organization of Nurse Leaders MA, RI, NH, CT, VT. She teaches Health Policy in the graduate program and Ethics, Policy, and Legal Issues in the undergraduate program in UMass Boston’s College of Nursing and Health Sciences.