TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Indiana State University nursing professor Betsy Frank has been named as one of 41 fellows to the National League for Nursing’s Academy of Nursing Education.
The fellows, representing 33 schools of nursing throughout the United States, were selected by the NLN Board of Governors, the oversight body for the Academy.
Frank was selected for her sustained and significant contributions to the field of nursing education, said NLN Board President Toni Bargagliotti.
"We are proud of the visionary leadership each of these Fellows represent. They serve as important role models to anyone aspiring to make a difference in nursing education, and ultimately to the delivery of health care in the United States," she said.
Frank, who has been a member of Indiana State’s nursing faculty since August 1994, earned her BSN from The Ohio State University, her MN in medical-surgical nursing from the University of Washington and Ph.D. in educational administration from the University of Utah.
Serving as a nurse educator is something she is passionate about.
“For a majority of my career I have been a nurse educator because I believe impacting the next generation of nurses is truly a calling,†she said.
She teaches online in the RN-BS track of the baccalaureate degree nursing program, on campus in the baccalaureate program and online in the Master’s program in Nursing Administration. Frank teaches courses in nursing research and leadership as well as Financial Management for Healthcare Managers, a new course in the Master’s program. Her excellence in the classroom has earned her the Faculty Distinguished Service Award, President's Medal and the Caleb Mills Teaching Award from Indiana State.
Her current research interests are spiritual coping in cancer patients and the response of students to international collaboration through course discussion boards. Other research interests include job satisfaction in staff nurses and nurse administrators. She has published many articles and book chapters on a variety of nursing education and nursing administration topics.
Frank is active in many organizations, including the American Nurses Association, National League of Nursing, Council for Graduate Education Nursing Administration and the Midwest Nursing Research Society. Currently she is Region 9 coordinator and president of the Lambda Sigma chapter of Sigma Theta Tau.
The NLN established the Academy of Nursing Education earlier this year to foster excellence in nursing education by recognizing and capitalizing on the wisdom of outstanding nurse educators. Fellows support the vision of the NLN to promote standards of excellence in nursing education that will increase the number of graduates from all types of nursing programs and serve as resources for new educators and those in clinical practice who hope to someday enter the ranks of nursing faculty.
As newly named fellows, this group has been lauded for innovative teaching and/or learning strategies; nursing education research; faculty development; academic leadership; promotion of public policy that advances nursing education; and/or collaborative educational, practice or community partnerships.
Frank will be inducted and attend a meeting of fellows in the Academy of Nursing Education in conjunction with the NLN's annual Education Summit, Sept. 26-29 in Phoenix, AZ.
Note: A downloadable, high resolution photo of Frank is available at http://isuphoto.smugmug.com/photos/134751804-D.jpg .
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Contact: Betsy Frank, professor of nursing, (812) 237-3481 or pfrank@isugw.indstate.edu
Writer: Paula Meyer, ISU Communications & Marketing, (812) 237-3783 or pmeyer4@isugw.indstate.edu