Professor selected as a Fellow of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (FAANP)

Clinical Associate Professor and Director of the Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Program Deborah Dillon, DNP, RN, CRNP, ACNP-BC, CCRN, CHFN-K, has been selected as a Fellow of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (FAANP).

She will join a group of leaders whose scholarly and forward-thinking contributions have led to meaningful improvements to health care and the nurse practitioner role. The purpose of the AANP Fellows is to impact national and global health by engaging recognized nurse practitioners to lead new initiatives and support the AANP mission.

Dillon has been instrumental in advocating for policy change at the local and state level including advancing Full Practice Authority (FPA) in the state of Virginia. Dillon has impacted nurse practitioners through her focus on transition-to-practice research, publications, and presentations. She has more than 20 years of clinical experience in the practice of cardiac electrophysiology and heart failure. Most recently, she practiced as an acute care nurse practitioner in the Digestive Disease and Surgical Institute at the Cleveland Clinic.

She is the author of a book publication (Spring 2021) Successful Transition to Practice: A Guide for the New Nurse Practitioner (McGraw Hill). She has also authored two book chapters, "Introduction to the Role of Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner" and "'Heart Failure-Acute Exacerbation' in Clinical Simulations for the Advance Practice Nurse" (Alfes & Zimmerman 2020--Springer Publishing). In addition, she has authored the electronic publication, "Pharmacology: RN Review Course for Sigma Nursing" (2019).

Started in 2000, the FAANP is the highest professional designation for any nurse practitioner, according to the American Journal of Nurse Practitioners. The program annually invites colleagues who have made a significant impact on the nurse practitioner profession. Of the more than 75,000 members of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, only one percent, or about 700 nurse practitioners, have been inducted as FAANPs.