People
October 17, 2011
Nursing professors earn highest honors
Marcia Holstad and William Puentes
Two professors at the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Marcia Holstad and William Puentes, have been inducted into the American Academy of Nursing (AAN) Fellowship.
Induction into the 1,600-member AAN Fellowship is one of the highest honors in nursing. Fellows are considered nursing's most accomplished leaders in education, management, practice and research. They are elected through a highly selective process that recognizes individuals who have made major contributions to nursing and health care and whose work has influenced health policies benefiting all Americans.
"Dr. Holstad and Dr. Puentes are the only nurses in Georgia to earn this distinction in 2011, bringing the total of AAN fellows at Emory to 12," says Linda McCauley, dean of the School of Nursing.
Holstad, a professor at the School of Nursing for more than 20 years, is among the pioneers in HIV/AIDS nursing research. She currently is leading the Music Project, a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded study testing the efficacy of an audio music program aimed at educating and motivating people living with HIV to adhere to their antiretroviral medications.
Holstad also recently served as principal investigator on an NIH-funded behavioral trial, called the KHARMA Project, which tested the effectiveness of a nurse-led motivational group intervention to promote compliance to antiretroviral therapy and risk reduction behaviors in HIV-positive women.
Puentes' research is focused on psychosocial self-management strategies for individuals with Alzheimer's disease. He is considered an expert in geropsychiatric nursing and is a member of the Gerontological Society of America and the American Nurses Association.
He also is the editor of "Older Adults: Recommended Baccalaureate Competencies and Curricular Guidelines for Geriatric Nursing Care" and a frequent contributor to the Journal of Gerontological Nursing and Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association.
"I am extremely proud to celebrate the induction of these new fellows who have both made a significant impact on health care and research," says McCauley.
