Professor and Associate Dean for Clinical and Global Partnerships Maria Rodriguez Shirey, PhD, MBA, RN, NEA-BC, ANEF, FACHE, FNAP, FAAN, has been named the inaugural holder of the Jane H. Brock-Florence Nightingale Endowed Professorship in Nursing in the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing by the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees.
The Jane H. Brock -Florence Nightingale Endowed Professorship in Nursing was established to recognize a faculty member who exhibits the characteristics and essence of Florence Nightingale, whose leadership and work focuses on building clinical and educational partnerships to improve access to quality health care for vulnerable and underserved populations, and who demonstrates innovative leadership and attracts ongoing extramural funding.
“Dr. Shirey has clear strengths in developing sustainable, impactful research and clinical service projects and innovative educational programs, and with the support of this professorship, she will become even more successful in bridging gaps in health care and inspiring up-and-coming nurse leaders to do the same,” said UAB School of Nursing Dean and Fay B. Ireland Endowed Chair in Nursing Doreen C. Harper, PhD, RN, FAAN. “Dr. Shirey is a perfect match for this important role and will set a high standard for future holders of this professorship.”
Shirey is known nationally for her well-funded research and clinical partnership work in the areas of leadership, and new models of care delivery for health systems, focusing on improving outcomes for work environments in the acute, critical care, and ambulatory settings. She also has an exemplary record and vast knowledge, experience, and commitment to mentorship. Her focus on building clinical and educational interprofessional partnerships to improve access to quality health care and improve health in Alabama and beyond is recognized throughout the world.
“I am thankful to the Brock family for establishing this endowed professorship at our School of Nursing to recognize the work and leadership legacy of Florence Nightingale,” Shirey said. “I am honored to be named to this prestigious post and have the opportunity to continue to build partnerships that improve access to quality health care and health outcomes for underserved and vulnerable populations.”
Her unique, interprofessional point of view has allowed Shirey to attract extramural funding for projects such as building a primary care registered nurse workforce in Alabama, enhancing transitional care coordination for heart failure patients, and bridging the gap in behavioral health for uninsured populations. She has secured more than $5 million in extramural funding for these and other projects since joining UAB in 2013.
This funding includes two large U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) training grants for which she has served as Principal Investigator/Project Director. The first, “Interprofessional Collaborative Practice Enhancing Transitional Care Coordination in Heart Failure Patients,” was a three-year, $1.5 million grant that started the HRTSA Heart Failure Clinic in collaboration with UAB Hospital. Because of its success in improving health and reducing costs, the hospital continues to sustain the Heart Failure Clinic once HRSA funding ended.
Most recently, she was awarded a four-year, $2. 8 million HRSA grant, “Building a Resilient Primary Care Registered Nurse Workforce for Chronic Disease Prevention and Control in Alabama,” to help improve health outcomes in medically underserved areas of Alabama and to educate undergraduate nursing students and practicing RNs in team-focused primary care. As PI of the project, Shirey is working to address the primary care service deficit by priming BSN-prepared RNs to assume greater responsibility for care management of patients with chronic conditions across all levels of prevention, as well as integrating follow-up and complex specialty care for those discharged from the hospital. Importantly, the project brings together several community clinics serving the uninsured and Tuskegee University School of Nursing and Allied Health as an affiliate partner.
Prior to joining academia full-time, Shirey built a successful career as a nurse executive and leader-one who brought a hospital to Magnet designation, founded and ran multiple outpatient clinics, served as a hospital vice president, and mentored countless future health care leaders-all while serving concurrently as adjunct nursing faculty.
In addition to her nursing degrees, she holds a Master of Business Administration and board certification in advanced nursing executive practice (NEA-BC). She is also a Fellow and a certified healthcare executive of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE), a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN), a Distinguished Fellow and Scholar in the National Academies of Practice (FNAP), and a Fellow in the Academy of Nursing Education (ANEF). She has served as Chair of the National Board of Directors for the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses Certification Corporation, President of the American Board of Nursing Specialties, and chair of numerous other sections or work groups within organizations in which she holds memberships, including the National League for Nursing Research Panel, the Expert Panel for Health Systems Excellence for the American Academy of Nursing, and the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Research Council, for which she currently serves as Chair.
Shirey has authored more than 100 scholarly publications in peer-reviewed journals and has presented more than 50 national and international peer-reviewed papers. Her scholarly contributions regarding leadership and interprofessional education and collaborative practice have been acknowledged with multiple awards, including the prestigious American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE) Foundation Nurse Researcher Award for 2019, which recognizes an individual who has made significant contributions to nursing and health systems research.
Shirey is Editor in Chief of the prestigious Journal for Healthcare Quality, a widely read interprofessional journal that is the official journal of the National Association for Healthcare Quality. Shirey also serves on the editorial board of Nursing Administration Quarterly and is an active member of the International Academy of Nurse Editors.
Her appointment is effective June 2019.