Nursing dean selected as American Academy of Nursing fellow
Dr. Bim Akintade, the new dean of East Carolina University’s College of Nursing, will be inducted as a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing, recognized by the nursing community as the highest honor that a nurse can receive from their peers.
Dr. Bim Akintade, the new dean of the College of Nursing, has been selected as a fellow of the 2022 class of the American Academy of Nursing. (Contributed photo)
“This designation is the highest honor one can receive in the nursing profession, and I am happy I will be inducted in purple and gold to represent Pirate Nurse Nation,” Akintade said.
Akintade will join 250 other nurses from across the nation and 17 foreign countries to be formally inducted into the 2022 class of fellows during a ceremony in Washington, D.C., in October. The new inductees will join more than 3,000 other nursing professionals as AAN fellows who serve as experts in nursing research, practice and education.
Akintade comes to ECU after beginning his academic career as a faculty member and administrator at the University of Maryland. While at Maryland, he served as the director of the Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner/Clinical Nurse Specialist Doctor of Nursing Practice program prior to being appointed associate dean of the Master of Science in Nursing Program.
As a nurse, Akintade spent four years at the bedside and another 15 years an acute care nurse practitioner, giving him real-world understanding of the academic principles that he will oversee as the dean of ECU’s College of Nursing.
“Having been a bedside nurse and an acute care provider in a hospital setting, I recognize that being a leader in the nursing community means that we need to advocate for the nurses and patients in clinics and hospitals, particularly in rural areas and underserved communities,” Akintade said. “I plan to leverage the connections that this fellowship affords me to strengthen the profession of nursing to the best of my ability.”
American Academy of Nursing President Kenneth White said that the 2022 class of fellows is the largest in the organization’s history, and the group of inductees will work as a cohort to advance investments in access to care, health equity and innovation.
“When we gather this fall, to award the fellowship credential, I look forward to celebrating each fellow’s incredible accomplishments that have improved the well-being of communities across the globe,” White said.
Induction into the AAN as a fellow recognizes a nurse’s commitment to the profession and excellence as a member of the vocation, which isn’t lost on Akintade.
“It means a lot that my peers deemed me worthy of this recognition,” Akintade said. “While this is acknowledgement of my successes throughout my career, I take it more as validation that I am prepared to help lead the next generation of Pirate Nurses, which is as an equally high honor.”