ASU dean selected for competitive national nurse fellowship

Teri Pipe, dean of Arizona State University’s College of Nursing & Health Innovation, has been named one of just 20 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Executive Nurse Fellows for 2014. Pipe joins a select group of nurses from across the country chosen to participate in the final cohort of this world-class, three-year leadership development program that is enhancing the effectiveness of nurse leaders who are working to improve the United States health care system.

Pipe is an expert on nursing leadership with a focus on interprofessionalism, bringing nurses together with physicians and other health professionals, business people and policymakers, to help redesign and improve health in the United States. She is also an expert on mindfulness, which is an approach to help people increase their ability to perform by being fully present and in the moment. Her research interests include resilience in professional and clinical populations, health promotion and wellness, positive coping and stress management, oncology and gerontology.

Begun by the foundation in 1998, the Executive Nurse Fellows program strengthens the leadership capacity of nurses who aspire to shape health care in their communities, states and nationally. The program will provide Pipe and her colleagues with coaching, education and other support to strengthen their abilities to lead teams and organizations working to improve health and health care. The program is located at the Center for Creative Leadership and co-directed by Linda Cronenwett, dean emeritus and professor at the School of Nursing at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; and David Altman, executive vice president and managing director at the Center for Creative Leadership.

“At this moment, when the role of nurses in providing care and promoting health is expanding, and our country’s health care system is being transformed, we need nurse leaders with the strongest skills possible,” Cronenwett said. “The RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows program is enhancing the leadership skills of talented nurses all across the country. Our alumni are a virtual ‘who’s who’ of accomplished, prestigious nurses, and we know that Teri Pipe and the other members of the 2014 RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows cohort will do a tremendous amount to improve health care and build a culture of health in the United States.”

“I am honored to participate in this important program, and am passionate about making the most of this opportunity to make positive change in the health of our communities across the United States,” Pipe said. “It is exhilarating to have this chance to strengthen leadership capacity in nursing and health. I look forward to learning with and from the other fellows involved in this important endeavor.”

Executive Nurse Fellows hold senior leadership positions in health services, scientific and academic organizations, public health and community-based organizations or systems, and professional, governmental and policy organizations. They continue in their current positions during their fellowships, and each develops, plans and implements a new initiative to improve health care delivery in her or his community.

The fellowship is supported through a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

For more information about the program, visit: www.ExecutiveNurseFellows.org.