Newswise — The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) recently selected Elizabeth “Beth” Henneman, RN, PhD, FAAN, as its 2017 Distinguished Research Lecturer.
The award recognizes nurses whose research significantly influences high acuity and critical care. Established in 1982, it is now funded by a grant from Philips Healthcare, Andover, Massachusetts.
Henneman is an associate professor at the University of Massachusetts College of Nursing in Amherst, where she has been an educator and researcher since 1999.
With a nursing career spanning more than 35 years, Henneman is widely known for her research on how nurses and physicians recover medical errors at the point of care. Her frontline experience as a staff nurse and clinical nurse specialist has informed her program of research, which center on testing interventions that enhance patient safety and facilitate patient- and family-centered care for the acutely and critically ill.
“Dr. Henneman is an inspiration and mentor for countless advanced practice nurses, staff nurses and students within critical care,” said Anna Gawlinski, RN, PhD, CNS-BC, FAAN, adjunct professor at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Nursing and former director of research and evidence-based practice at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. “She has a genuine gift for making a research project come alive. Her leadership constantly challenges critical care nursing to move forward and grow as a profession and as a science.”
Henneman is currently using eye-tracking technology as a tool for providing objective evidence on how nurses and physicians carry out routine, yet error-prone processes such as administering and ordering medications. She also has used eye tracking as a debriefing strategy with student nurses practicing in a simulated setting.
In addition to other funded research studies, she has been a co-principal investigator on three projects funded by the National Science Foundation to improve patient safety and medical processes.
She serves as a team leader of the Society of Critical Care Medicine’s safe medication task force and a reviewer for both nursing and interdisciplinary journals, including Critical Care Nurse (CCN) and the Journal of Patient Safety. She served on the editorial board of The Joint Commission’s Journal on Quality and Patient Safety for five years.
A prolific author and presenter, she frequently speaks at nursing conferences, and her research has been published in numerous peer-reviewed clinical and research journals, including CCN, the American Journal of Critical Care (AJCC) and the Journal of Patient Safety. Several of her papers have been cited more than 100 times, including one paper with more than 400 citations.
Henneman spent more than 12 years as a clinical nurse specialist in the medical intensive care unit at the UCLA Medical Center. She also served on the faculty at UCLA School of Nursing and California State University while completing her doctoral studies at UCLA.
She received an undergraduate nursing degree from Boston College and a master’s degree from the University of Colorado in Denver, in addition to her PhD from UCLA.
After returning to her home state of Massachusetts, Henneman worked as a clinical nurse specialist in the ICU at Mercy Medical Center and later as a critical care staff nurse at Baystate Medical Center, in addition to her academic responsibilities.
AACN previously honored Henneman with its Circle of Excellence award in 2012 in recognition of her sustained contributions to acute and critical care nursing. Among her numerous other awards, she is a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and a member of Sigma Theta Tau International.
As the Distinguished Research Lecturer, Henneman will discuss her career and research journey Monday, May 22, 2017, during AACN’s National Teaching Institute & Critical Care Exposition (NTI). The world’s largest educational conference and trade show for acute and critical care nurses, NTI takes place Monday, May 22, through Thursday, May 25, 2017, in Houston. (Preconferences are Sunday, May 21.)
AJCC will publish an abstract of Henneman’s presentation in its May 2017 issue, followed by a complete manuscript in July 2017.
About AACN’s Distinguished Research Lectureship: AACN established the Distinguished Research Lectureship in 1982 to honor nationally known nurses who make significant contributions to high acuity and critical care research. The annual award funded by a grant from Philips Healthcare, Andover, Massachusetts, recognizes research that changes or improves patient outcomes and advances nursing education and practice. Recipients present their award-winning research at the National Teaching Institute & Critical Care Exposition and receive a $2,500 honorarium.
About the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses: Founded in 1969 and based in Aliso Viejo, California, the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) is the largest specialty nursing organization in the world. AACN joins together the interests of more than half a million acute and critical care nurses and has more than 225 chapters worldwide. The organization’s vision is to create a healthcare system driven by the needs of patients and their families in which acute and critical care nurses make their optimal contribution. www.aacn.org; facebook.com/aacnface; twitter.com/aacnme
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