Dean Kelly Nichols elected as a Distinguished Fellow of the National Academies of Practice (NAP) in Optometry. A Distinguished Practitioner, Scholar or Policy Fellow within NAP is a very high honor that acknowledges her outstanding achievements. This honor also identifies Dean Nichols as a recognized leader in the optometry profession and indicates that colleagues in other Academies of NAP recognize her ability to help establish and lead her new Academy in the days to come.
This year’s forum title is “Interprofessional Collaborative Practice: Advocacy for Population Health.” The 2019 Annual Meeting & Forum will be held on March 7 - 9 in Pentagon City, VA. Sessions will focus on the themes of advocacy for interprofessional collaboration, interprofessional practice models for population health, and person-centered quality healthcare. Induction of new Fellows takes place at a black tie Gala Banquet during the NAP Annual Meeting & Forum, where the distinctive NAP medallion is awarded.
“It is a great honor to represent the UAB School of Optometry in NAP, “said Dean Nichols. “Through this experience, my goal is to gather interprofessional knowledge that will impact the academic experience had by our students, and also to partner with my peers to impact the future of optometry.
Dean Nichols will be in the company many outstanding healthcare leaders and practitioners of NAP, who are working collaboratively as an interprofessional community to influence and promote national health policy, legislation, quality healthcare, and research.