Prof. Allison Squires named National Academy of Medicine Distinguished Nurse Scholar-in-Residence

Allison Squires, PhD, RN, FAAN, associate professor at NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing, has been selected as the National Academy of Medicine Distinguished Nurse Scholar-in-Residence for the Future of Nursing 2020-2030 Study.

The National Academy of Medicine (NAM) Distinguished Nurse Scholar-in-Residence, supported for nearly 30 years by the American Academy of Nursing, the American Nurses Association, and the American Nurses Foundation, is a year-long opportunity for a fellow of the Academy to engage with nurse leaders and other scholars at NAM while helping to develop health policy at the federal level.

Squires is a global health workforce capacity-building researcher with a special interest in improving immigrant and refugee health outcomes. During her time as the NAM Distinguished Nurse Scholar-in-Residence, Squires aims to bring her sustainable development perspectives to examine methods of increasing interprofessional collaboration and maximizing the skills of nurses across the spectrum.

“I am honored to be selected for this opportunity to represent the American Academy of Nursing, the American Nurses Association, and the American Nurses Foundation while undertaking this important work at the National Academy of Medicine, in collaboration with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation,” said Squires. “This is an excellent chance for me to utilize my international focus to advance NAM’s research on health equity and the sustainability of our nation’s nursing workforce.”

The review committee -- which included leadership from the American Academy of Nursing, the American Nurses Association, the American Nurses Foundation, the NAM, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation -- selected Squires for her strong policy background as well as her stated focus to examine and address sustainability of the workforce from the perspective of integrating social determinants of health.

“Collaboration with the National Academy of Medicine, especially in regard to selecting a Distinguished Nurse Scholar-in-Residence role,” said Karen Cox, PhD, RN, FACHE, FAAN, president of the American Academy of Nursing, “is a time-honored testament to nursing’s role in charting a course for improved health outcomes through policy.”

In 2009, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation partnered with the Institute of Medicine (currently NAM) to produce the Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health, which set a vision for nursing’s role in 2020. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation will again partner with NAM to undertake the Future of Nursing 2020-2030 study, which will evaluate current and emerging trends within the health and nursing fields to create a framework for reducing health disparities, improving the health and well-being of the population, and creating a culture of health throughout the nation.

“The Future of Nursing 2020-2030 study comes at a critical time,” said Ernest Grant, PhD, RN, FAAN, president of the American Nurses Association. “The confluence of an aging workforce, technological advances, and a demand for care in the community means the profession needs an evaluation of our future direction. The study will be vital to determining nursing’s course in the coming decades.”

“Dr. Squires will do tremendous work in her role as Distinguished Nurse Scholar-in-Residence for the National Academy of Medicine,” said Tim Porter-O’Grady, DM, EdD, ScD(h), APRN, FAAN, FACCWS, Board of Trustees Chair of the American Nurses Foundation. “Her unique contributions in policy, research, and community engagement will enable her to advance the important work of the Future of Nursing 2020-2030 study.”