Newswise — PARK RIDGE, IL – Ladan Eshkevari, PhD, CRNA, L.Ac., FAAN, a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist from McLean, Va., has been elected as a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing (AAN). Eshkevari joins the ranks of an elite group of just over 2,000 nursing professionals, and less than 40 CRNAs, who have been elected as AAN Fellows since the academy was established in 1973.

Eshkevari is an associate professor and program administrator of the doctorate of nurse anesthesia program at Georgetown University Medical Center, with appointments in the School of Nursing and Health Studies and the Department of Pharmacology and Physiology in Washington, D.C. Prior to becoming program director, Eshkevari served as assistant program director of the Georgetown Nurse Anesthesia Program, and the program liaison to the US Navy Nurse Anesthesia Program.

“The importance of evidence-based practice, and educating well-prepared anesthesia providers in our global healthcare environment, becomes more important with each passing year,” said Eshkevari. “I feel fortunate to be able to play a role in America’s healthcare future.  It’s an honor to be selected as a fellow into such a prestigious body of nursing professionals.”

A professor at Georgetown University for 20 years, she earned a bachelor’s in nursing with honors from the University of Maryland in Baltimore, and her master’s in nurse anesthesia from Columbia University in New York. In addition, Eshkevari earned her doctorate in Physiology and Biophysics from Georgetown University. 

Eshkevari was recently published in the Journal of Experimental Biology and Medicine, and Journal of Endocrinology, and Endocrinology, which have stimulated international interest in her research.  Additionally, her work has been recently highlighted in numerous popular magazines such as National Geographic, Time Magazine and National Public Radio.

The AAN is an organization of distinguished nursing leaders who are recognized for their outstanding contributions to the profession through publications, research, awards and honors, professional activities, and community service.  The academy’s Fellows represent all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and 24 countries.  The induction will take place during the academy’s 2017 Annual Policy Conference in Washington, D.C., Oct. 5-7.

About the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA)

Founded in 1931 and located in Park Ridge, Ill., and Washington, D.C., the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA) is the professional organization representing more than 52,000 Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (CRNAs) and student registered nurse anesthetists across the United States. As advanced practice registered nurses and anesthesia specialists, CRNAs administer approximately 43 million anesthetics to patients in the United States each year and are the primary providers of anesthesia care in rural America. In some states, CRNAs are the sole anesthesia professionals in nearly 100 percent of rural hospitals.