SILVER SPRING, MD –Jessica Castner, PhD, RN-BC, FAEN, FAAN, has been selected as the 2021-2022 National Academy of Medicine (NAM) Distinguished Nurse Scholar-in-Residence. Supported for nearly 30 years by the American Academy of Nursing (Academy), the American Nurses Association (ANA), and the American Nurses Foundation (Foundation), the Distinguished Nurse Scholar-in-Residence is a year-long immersion experience for an Academy Fellow to leverage their expertise and play a prominent role in developing health policy at the federal level while engaging in interprofessional collaboration with scholars at NAM.
Operating under a Congressional charter, the National Academy of Medicine is a premier institution that provides evidence-based solutions and offers comprehensive policies to advance public health and address health inequities, such as the recently released Future of Nursing 2020-2030: Charting a Path to Achieve Health Equity report. Through these reports and their work, NAM is catalyzing critical health issues to the forefront of the public eye as well as to policymakers’ agendas. The Distinguished Nurse Scholar-in-Residence position provides crucial nursing perspectives to better support the public’s health.
Dr. Castner is the President and Principal Investigator/Consultant of Castner Incorporated, as well as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Emergency Nursing. An expert in emergency and environmental health, Dr. Castner hones her clinical, entrepreneurial, and research experience to develop the next generation of telehealth and emergency care that understands and addresses social determinants of emergency medicine utilization in order to create more equitable care. Her pioneering work to integrate environmental health research, emergency nursing, and data science modelling within a social justice framework has enabled her promotion of healthy environments and prevention of health emergencies.
“I am honored to be selected as the Distinguished Nurse Scholar-in-Residence at NAM as this role will provide an opportunity to use my skills in a way that will have a profound impact on climate policy, nursing’s role in environmental justice, and the future well-being of our nation,” said Dr. Castner. During her time as the NAM Distinguished Nurse Scholar-in-Residence, Dr. Castner will maximize the opportunity for interprofessional collaboration to continue her work on environmental health equity initiatives.
“Our relationship with NAM, especially in regard to selecting a Distinguished Nurse Scholar-in-Residence, helps to reinforce the Academy’s mission to improve health and advance health equity by collaborating with experts and disseminating nursing knowledge. Selection to this post enables our Fellows to use their nursing lens to chart a course for improved health outcomes through policy,” said Academy President Eileen Sullivan-Marx, PhD, RN, FAAN.
“Congratulations to Dr. Castner. Her work at the intersection of telehealth and emergency care to bolster health equity is more important than ever as health care delivery systems recover and rebuild in communities across the nation. I look forward to supporting Dr. Castner’s journey as a NAM scholar,” said ANA President Ernest Grant, PhD, RN, FAAN. “The Distinguished Nurse Scholar-in-Residence program is a shining example of nurse excellence that continues to bridge contemporary nursing practice and health policy.”
“Dr. Castner will bring a wealth of nursing knowledge and innovative concepts to NAM to address social and particularly environmental determinants of health, which contribute to the vast health disparities in our society,” said American Nurses Foundation Executive Director Kate Judge. “We must have nurses’ expertise and voice at every policy table to change the trajectory of equitable health for all.”
The review committee responsible for selecting this year’s Distinguished Nurse Scholar-in-Residence included Academy Board member Debra Barksdale, PhD, FNP-BC, ANP-BC, FAANP, FAAN; ANA President Ernest Grant; Foundation Executive Director Kate Judge; and NAM Director of Health Policy Fellowships and Leadership Programs Gregg Margolis, PhD. To learn more about application process and the NAM Distinguished Nurse Scholar-in-Residence program, visit www.aannet.org.
