Nursing Instructor and Doctoral Student Christina Marie Stewart-Amidei has been selected by the American Academy of Nursing as one of its 2009 new Fellow Inductees.

Amidei was nominated for this honor by two current Academy Fellows and was selected by the Academy’s 15-member Fellow Selection Committee for her outstanding achievements in the nursing profession. She will be formally inducted as a Fellow with 97 other nurse leaders during the Academy’s Annual Awards Ceremony and Induction Banquet on November 7, 2009 in Atlanta, Georgia.

The Academy is constituted to anticipate national and international trends in health care, and address resulting issues of health care knowledge and policy. Not only is the invitation to Fellowship recognition of one’s accomplishments within the nursing profession, but also affords an opportunity to work with other leaders in health care in addressing the issues of the day. The Academy’s mission is to serve the public and nursing profession by advancing health policy and practice through the generation, synthesis, and dissemination of nursing knowledge.

Amidei has made substantial contributions to the field of neuroscience nursing through both practice and publication. She has maintained clinical practice for the past 34 years, 27 of which were as a neurosurgery clinical nurse specialist. As co-author of the first book to focus on stroke nursing, and author of more than 60 additional chapters, texts, and journal articles related to neuroscience nursing, she has set the course for neuroscience nursing practice.

With Amidei’s induction into the Academy, about 18 percent of UCF College of Nursing faculty members will hold this elite nursing honor, including Drs. Karen Aroian, Angeline Bushy, Jacqueline Byers, Karen Dennis, Anne Norris and Mary Lou Sole.

The Academy is made up of more than 1500 nursing leaders in education, management, practice, and research.