UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Nikki Hill, associate professor and associate director of education in the Tressa Nese and Helen Diskevich Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence at Penn State, has been selected to be a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing.
Induction into the academy is a significant milestone in a nurse leader’s career in which their accomplishments are honored by their colleagues within and outside the profession. Fellows are selected based on their contributions and impact to advance the public’s health.
The academy is an honorific society that recognizes nursing's most accomplished leaders in policy, research, practice, administration and academia. Academy fellows, from nearly 40 countries, hold a wide variety of roles influencing health care. Induction into the fellowship represents more than recognition of one's accomplishments within the nursing profession. Fellows contribute their collective expertise to the academy, engaging with health leaders nationally and globally to improve health and achieve health equity by impacting policy through nursing leadership, innovation and science.
Hill’s research focuses on cognitive decline risk in older adults, reducing dementia-related stigma, and tailoring interventions to meet individual goals. Her contributions to nursing science have advanced understanding of dementia’s earliest symptoms as well as provided targets for person-centered interventions to maximize cognitive and functional outcomes. Her research has been funded by the National Institute of Nursing Research, the National Institute on Aging, the National Hartford Center of Gerontological Nursing Excellence, and the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute. Through application of her empirically-supported model, researchers can better predict trajectories of cognitive decline based on early symptoms, and clinicians can better respond with goal-oriented interventions that promote person-centered outcomes.
Hill completed her bachelor's degree in biology at Penn State, then her bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in nursing at Penn State’s Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing. As a Claire M. Fagin Postdoctoral Fellow, she completed interdisciplinary postdoctoral training at the college and Center for Healthy Aging.
“It is a true honor to be selected as a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing. The nursing leaders in the academy are transforming healthcare and health outcomes in our country and around the world, and I’m looking forward to joining them in the work of achieving these goals,” stated Hill.
Through a competitive, rigorous application process, the academy’s fellow selection committee, which is comprised of current fellows, reviewed hundreds of applications to select the 2021 fellows. Hill was one of 225 individuals selected to be inducted into the 2021 Class of Fellows. The 2021 fellows represent 38 states, the District of Columbia, and 18 countries.
“It is incredibly heartwarming to see Nikki be selected as a new fellow by the American Academy of Nursing for her nursing research and policy accomplishments,” said Laurie Badzek, dean of the Penn State Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing. “Having yet another nursing faculty member be selected further highlights the achievements and quality our nursing faculty.”
The 2021 inductees will be recognized for their significant contributions to health and health care at the academy’s annual Health Policy Conference, taking place on Oct. 7-9. This year’s conference and induction ceremony will be offered in a hybrid format, allowing attendees to participate either in-person (at the Marriott Marquis in Washington, D.C.) or virtually, allowing for maximum attendance through an inclusive format where colleagues, friends and family members who may not be able to attend the event in person are able to participate. This year’s induction ceremony, which will feature personalized video vignettes and live streaming of each inductee, will be a special way to recognize the new fellows as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to challenge traditional methods of celebration.
Learn more about the academy and visit the hybrid policy conference website for more details.
The American Academy of Nursing serves the public by advancing health policy and practice through the generation, synthesis, and dissemination of nursing knowledge. Academy fellows are inducted into the organization for their extraordinary contributions to improve health locally and globally. With more than 2,800 fellows, the academy represents nursing’s most accomplished leaders in policy, research, administration, practice and academia.