The Fellows of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (FAANP) recently selected Ursula Kelly, PhD, APRN, ANP-BC, PMHNP-BC, associate professor at Emory's Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing into its 2017 Fellowship class. Kelly will be inducted at the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) annual national conference in Philadelphia, Pa. in June.
Induction into the AANP Fellowship is considered one of the highest honors for nurse practitioners. Fellows are elected through a highly selective process that recognizes nurse practitioner leaders who have made outstanding contributions to health care through clinical practice, research, education and policy. With Kelly’s pending induction, the School of Nursing now has nine faculty AANP fellows.
“Dr. Kelly has dedicated her career to providing care to vulnerable women – migrant farm workers, civilian and veteran survivors of intimate partner violence and sexual assault and patients in public hospitals and clinics,” said Linda McCauley, RN, PhD, dean of the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing. “This well-deserved honor is a reflection of the significant contributions she has made to improving health and mental well-being among women survivors of interpersonal trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Kelly is widely known for her pioneering studies in post-traumatic stress disorder and sexual trauma with military veterans. She is one of the few nurse scientists conducting research with women veterans with PTSD and military sexual trauma. In 2016, Kelly received a $1.1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to use yoga as an intervention for women who have experienced sexual trauma while serving in the military. In addition to her cutting-edge research, she has received numerous awards for her clinical work and research, including the March of Dimes Nurse of the Year Award for Behavioral Health, Emory University's Unsung Heroine Award, and the Atlanta Business Chronicle's Health Care Hero Award.
About the AANP
The AANP was founded in 1985 and is the oldest, largest, and only full-service national professional organization for nurse practitioners of all specialties. AANP represents the interests of more than 220,000 NPs currently practicing in the US and continually advocates at local, state, and federal levels for the recognition of NPs as providers of high-quality, cost-effective, and patient-centered health care.