UC Davis Health nurse researcher named American Academy of Nursing fellow

Lori Kennedy, director of the Center for Nursing Science at UC Davis Health, is among the new cohort of fellows of the American Academy of Nursing. She is the first health system employee to earn the F.A.A.N. (Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing) credential. It is both a significant recognition of her contributions to nursing science and the vibrant nursing leadership, science and innovation within the health system.

The newest fellows represent 37 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and 14 countries. The academy was launched more than 50 years ago. It recognizes nurses who make extraordinary contributions to improve health locally and globally through the generation, synthesis and dissemination of nursing knowledge.  

“While many of my accomplishments have been related to nursing and interdisciplinary professional organizations and with colleagues around the globe, this distinction reflects the work I have done with colleagues here at UC Davis Health in nursing, advanced practice and neurotrauma and neurocritical care,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy joined the health system as a new graduate. She has been a neuroscience nurse since she began work in the Neurosurgical Intensive Care Unit at the UC Davis Medical Center in the early 1990's. She later returned to school to earn a master’s degree at UCSF and was in the first cohort of their acute care nurse practitioner program. Kennedy then returned to the UC Davis Department of Neurological Surgery and worked in that role for almost two decades. She was also in the inaugural Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing Science and Health-Care Leadership at the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis, completing her doctoral degree in 2014.

As director of the Center for Nursing Science, Kennedy leads nursing and interdisciplinary research and evidence implementation in a range of clinical settings. She initiated programs including the EBP fellowship and the annual Nursing Science and Professional Governance Conference. The event showcases the evidence-based practice, quality improvement, research and innovation accomplished by nurses and interdisciplinary teams at UC Davis Health.

“With exceptional subject matter expertise, each new fellow will be vital to achieve the academy’s mission of improving health and achieving health equity by impacting policy through nursing leadership, innovation and science,” said academy President Linda D. Scott.

Scott added that earning this credential signifies the future impact fellows will make in collaboration with their academy colleagues.

Kennedy and the other inductees will be recognized for their substantial and sustained impact on health and health care on Nov. 2 at the academy’s annual conference in Washington D.C.