Newly inducted Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing Susan Sullivan-Bolyai (left) helps families like the one here cope with type 1 diabetes in young children.
Susan Sullivan-Bolyai, DNSc, is the latest member of the Graduate School of Nursing faculty to be inducted as a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN). Selection for fellowship in the AAN is one of the most prestigious honors in the field of nursing. Dr. Sullivan-Bolyai, professor of nursing and pediatrics, becomes the second GSN faculty member to have this honor bestowed during her tenure at UMass Chan.
“Being chosen as a Fellow of American Academy of Nursing will give me an opportunity to share at the national level my expertise in helping families with children who have special health care needs manage the day-to-day care they sometimes struggle with in their homes and community,” she said.
Selection criteria for the FAAN designation include evidence of significant contributions to nursing and health care, based in part on the extent to which nominees’ nursing careers have influenced health policies and the health and well-being of all.
Sullivan-Bolyai has primarily focused her research on helping families of children diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Her current study, “Human patient simulation: Parent teaching enhancement,” funded by the National Institute of Nursing Research, focuses on the use of a human patient simulator as a means to enhance parent teaching and diabetes management during the early days of a child’s diagnosis. She has also done work tailored to helping Latino families with young children with type 1 diabetes, and has expanded research to include families of children with other chronic diseases.
Sullivan-Bolyai also vitally influences UMMS students as a teacher. “Dr. Sullivan-Bolyai encourages and relentlessly challenges doctoral students to strive beyond their goals,” said PhD in Nursing student Laura Maguire. “She is an extraordinary inspiration and I am deeply thankful for the gift of her dedicated mentorship.”
Related link on UMassMedNow:
Miller named fellow of the American Academy of Nursing
