UA Nursing Scholars Named American Academy of Nursing Fellows

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Dr. Norma Cuellar and Dr. Susan Gaskins, professors in The University of Alabama Capstone College of Nursing, will be inducted into the American Academy of Nursing Fellowship during a formal ceremony at the AAN’s annual conference in Washington, D. C. in October.

Induction into the AAN Fellowship is one of the highest honors in nursing. Fellows are elected through a highly selective process that recognizes individuals who have made major contributions in nursing and health care and whose work has influenced nursing practice and health policies benefiting all Americans.

Cuellar’s most outstanding contribution to nursing has been in the field of sleep science, specifically the sleep disorder Restless Legs Syndrome. She is a national expert in complementary and alternative medicine. Her outstanding contributions include her book, “Conversations in CAM: Insights and Perspectives from Leading Practitioners,” published in 2006.

Cuellar is one of fewer than 200 doctorally-prepared Hispanic nurses in the country. She is an advocate for growing minority nurse populations and for reducing health disparities of the underserved populace.

She is dedicated to mentoring minority students to become nurse leaders and researchers, impacting the diversity of the health care workforce. She will be serving UA as the Faculty Fellow for the McNair Scholars for the 2011-12 academic year.

Cuellar has demonstrated considerable investment and leadership in diversity issues while serving on a variety of committees for the National Association of Hispanic Nurses and the National Coalition of Ethnic Minority Nurses Association. She serves on the Alabama State Department of Health-Health Disparities Committee, the West Alabama Health Literacy Taskforce and the NAACP Health Advisory Committee.

Gaskins’ significant contributions to nursing are related to her pioneering work as an advocate, educator and researcher in HIV/AIDS care and prevention.

For nearly 20 years, her scholarship has focused on the psychosocial experience of being infected with HIV. The dissemination of her science has brought attention to the psychosocial issues of HIV among special populations — especially rural residents and minority populations.

She was a founding member of West Alabama AIDS Outreach and serves on the board of directors.

Her research has been disseminated in both nursing and multidisciplinary journals and at national and international meetings, including the International AIDS Society. She is an active member of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care, recently serving two terms on the HIV/AIDS Certification Board. In November she will be the research plenary speaker at ANAC’s annual conference. Gaskins serves as principal investigator on an NIH-funded study on the impact of an AIDS disclosure for rural African-American men, a population disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS.