VERSAILLES, Ky. — Frontier Nursing University (FNU) president Dr. Susan Stone, DNSc, CNM, FACNM, FAAN, was inducted into the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) Class of 2018 at the organization’s annual meeting on Oct. 19 in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Stone has served as president of Frontier Nursing University since 2001. NAM states the election recognizes Dr. Stone’s achievements that have opened the door to more than 6,000 nurses to achieve graduate education and positively impact the accessibility of quality health care for rural families across the United States. Of the 85 new inductees, Dr. Stone is one of only two nurses in the NAM Class of 2018 and is the only inductee from Kentucky in the class.
Dr. Stone is a leader in the development of strategies to increase the quality and capacity of the midwifery and the advanced practice nursing workforce with the specific goal of improving health care for families. Her primary position for the last two decades is as the leader of Frontier Nursing University where she led the transition from a community-based school of nurse-midwifery offering a basic certificate program with 200 students enrolled to an accredited university offering masters and doctoral degrees to nurses seeking graduate degrees. Today the University has more than 2,300 graduate nursing students enrolled from every state in the United States.
Dr. Stone currently also serves as the President of the American College of Nurse-Midwives where her agenda includes increasing the midwifery workforce through educational quality and capacity strategies, advocacy, especially related to the maternal mortality and morbidity crisis, and increasing the diversity of the healthcare workforce. She believes working with other health care professionals is essential to achieve the goal of improving the health of women and families.
“The National Academy of Medicine offers an incredible opportunity to work collaboratively with leaders from a wide range of medical professions and disciplines,” Dr. Stone said. “It is a tremendous honor to join this organization which is so deeply committed to improving health care.”
Election to the Academy is considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine and recognizes individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service. Members are elected by current members through a process that recognizes individuals who have made major contributions to the advancement of the medical sciences, health care, and public health. A diversity of talent among NAM’s membership is assured by its Articles of Organization, which stipulates that at least one-quarter of the membership is selected from fields outside the health professions — for example, from such fields as law, engineering, social sciences, and the humanities. NAM’s total membership is more than 2,200, with only three members being from Kentucky, including Dr. Stone.
The election of Dr. Stone into the NAM membership was based on facts that she has reached distinguished professional achievement in the field of medicine and health, has demonstrated and continues her involvement with issues in healthcare, disease prevention, education and research, along with showcasing skills and resources likely to contribute to the Academy’s mission and finally, has proven a willingness to actively participate in the work of the Academy.
Established originally as the Institute of Medicine in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine addresses critical issues in health, science, medicine, and related policy and inspires positive actions across sectors. NAM works alongside the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering to provide independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation and conducts other activities to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine together encourage education and research, recognize outstanding contributions to knowledge, and increase public understanding. With their election, NAM members make a commitment to volunteer their service in National Academies activities.
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