Dr. Tracy A. Ortelli Inducted Into 2021 Class of American Academy of Nursing Fellows

LOUISVILE, Ky., Sept. 8, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Galen College of Nursing is pleased to announce Tracy A. Ortelli, Ph.D., RN, CNE, ANEF, has been selected to be a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN). Induction into the Academy is a significant milestone in a nurse leader's career in which their accomplishments are honored by their colleagues within and outside the profession. Fellows are selected based on their contributions and impact to advance the public's health and will contribute their collective expertise to the Academy by engaging with health leaders, nationally and globally, to improve health and achieve health equity by impacting policy through nursing leadership, innovation, and science. The inductees will be recognized for their significant contributions at the Academy's annual Health Policy Conference on October 7-9, 2021. 

"This is one of the highest honors that can be bestowed on a nurse, and it's no surprise to me or any one of our colleagues that Dr. Ortelli was selected by the American Academy of Nursing. Throughout her tenure at the College, Tracy has continued to raise our standard of academic excellence," exclaimed Mark Vogt, Galen College of Nursing CEO. "This honor is a first for a Galen College of Nursing, and I'm thrilled to congratulate Tracy for this incredible milestone in an already distinguished career."

Dr. Ortelli's leadership in assessment and evaluation has been the focus of her work, research, and publications. She led the development of the NLNs Certified Nurse Educator (CNE) program and published seminal research on the performance of candidates who took the CNE examination. Her research has catalyzed other scholars. She was also a co-author of the seminal work, The Scope of Practice for Academic Nurse Educators (National League for Nursing, 2005), which was the first monograph to define the history, values and beliefs, theoretical framework, scope, competencies, and standards of academic nursing education practice. Application of her expertise in assessment and evaluation was incorporated in her current role at Galen, where she established a college-wide, scalable assessment process that informed curriculum and faculty development, led to significant, sustained improvement in first-time NCLEX® pass rates, and facilitated program expansion.

Dr. Ortelli is the current president of the New Jersey League for Nursing, which received the National League for Nursing (NLN) Constituent League Excellence in Innovation Award in 2020. She is also the coordinator for the AJNs Nursing Resources column and is an inducted member of Sigma Theta Tau and the Academy of Nursing Education. She received her BSN from The Ohio State University, her MS from Columbia University, and her Ph.D. from Nova Southeastern University.

This year's conference and induction ceremony will be offered in a hybrid format, allowing attendees to participate either in-person (at the Marriott Marquis in Washington, DC) or virtually. Learn more about the Academy and visit the hybrid policy conference website for more details.

About Galen College of Nursing
Founded over 30 years ago, Galen College of Nursing is one of the largest private nursing schools in the United States. With a focus solely on nursing education, Galen offers master's, baccalaureate, associate, and practical/vocational nursing programs, to over 8,000 students on its campuses in Louisville and Hazard, KY.; San Antonio and Austin, TX; Nashville, TN; Tampa Bay and Miami, FL.; Cincinnati, OH; and online. Galen is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). Programmatic accreditation status for Galen's multiple programs and nationwide campuses can be found here. 

About the American Academy of Nursing
The American Academy of Nursing serves the public by advancing health policy and practice through the generation, synthesis, and dissemination of nursing knowledge. Academy Fellows are inducted into the organization for their extraordinary contributions to improve health locally and globally. With more than 2,800 Fellows, the Academy represents nursing's most accomplished leaders in policy, research, administration, practice, and academia. 

Contact:
Andy Stillwagon, Brand Communications Director
(502) 387-7476 (cell)
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SOURCE Galen College of Nursing