SIUE’s Griffin to be Inducted as AANP Fellow
The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Nursing’s Valerie Griffin, DNP, assistant clinical professor and coordinator of the family nurse practitioner program, will join the Fellows of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (FAANP). Griffin’s induction will honor her outstanding contributions to health care through her main focus areas of education and policy.
Griffin will be honored among 67 inductees on Thursday, June 22 during the AANP 2017 National Conference in Philadelphia. The AANP call the inductees “visionaries,” who will significantly contribute to the future of nurse practitioners and health care.
“I am honored to become a member of this professional group,” Griffin said. “I was nominated by a colleague whom I met through volunteer service on a content expert panel for the American Nurses Credentialing Center. She mentored me as chair of the panel and through that professional relationship, we developed a friendship. When she had asked me a few years ago if she could nominate me, I did not feel as if I was ready professionally. I wanted to publish and expand my leadership skills first. I finally decided this past year that I was ready to accept the nomination and submit my application.”
“I could not have reached this achievement without the help of my sponsors,” she continued. “whose support during the application process was extremely valuable. I have been privileged to have some amazing people in my corner as a nurse practitioner and an educator. I hope to be able to give back to this wonderful profession by being that same level of mentor to my students and colleagues.”
To qualify as a fellow, nurse practitioners must demonstrate:
- Exceptional contributions and outcomes in two main focus areas
- Significance and scope of influence on efforts related to those focus areas
- Continuing commitment and leadership
- Potential for contributing to the mission of the AANP and to FAANP initiatives
The AANP Fellows Program impacts national and global health. Fellows are expected to continue the work of leadership and mentorship, and participate as role models.
“Being a Fellow in the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners will ensure my ability to mentor family nurse practitioner students in the professional advancement of clinical practice and leadership,” Griffin said.
The American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) is the largest professional membership organization for nurse practitioners (NPs) of all specialties. It represents the interests of more than 205,000 NPs, including more than 67,000 individual members and 200 organizations, providing a unified networking platform and advocating for their role as providers of high-quality, cost-effective, comprehensive, patient-centered and personalized health care. The organization provides legislative leadership at the local, state and national levels, advancing health policy, promoting excellence in practice, education and research, and establishing standards that best serve NP patients and other health care consumers.
Photo: Valerie Griffin, DNP, assistant clinical professor and coordinator of the family nurse practitioner program in the SIUE School of Nursing.
