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Associate nursing dean at Quinnipiac University selected as American Academy of Nursing fellow

Leslie Neal-Boylan, associate dean of the Quinnipiac University School of Nursing, has been selected as a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing.

Neal-Boylan, of Hamden, is one of 172 nurse leaders to be inducted as fellows at the academy’s 40th annual meeting Oct. 19 in Washington, DC. The new class represents all 50 states, the District of Columbia and 19 countries.

“I am very excited about it,” Neal-Boylan said. “It's wonderful to be recognized for my lifelong efforts to contribute to nursing.”

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Selection as an AAN fellow is based on significant contributions to nursing, health care and health policies and sponsorship by two current academy fellows.

“It is one of the most prestigious honors in the field of nursing,” said AAN President Joanne Disch. “I congratulate all of the new fellows and look forward to honoring their accomplishments and welcoming them into the academy.”

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Applicants are reviewed by a panel comprised of elected and appointed fellows.

Neal-Boylan has been recognized for her scholarly work to promote home health care nurses and raise awareness about nurses with disabilities.

She has published eight scholarly books and more than 90 peer-reviewed articles on topics related to the nurse workforce, including home health nursing and nurses with disabilities.

“I’ve worked hard to bring recognition to home health nurses in various roles and have tried to point out what a difference they make,” Neal-Boylan said. “They need to be recognized for their expertise.”

Neal-Boylan has also been an advocate, through research and publications, for nurses with disabilities.

“I’ve found that nurses with disabilities do undergo discrimination despite the Americans with Disabilities Act,” she said. “There are a lot of assumptions made about their abilities based on their physical disabilities. We lose a lot of expertise when we lose those nurses.”

Neal-Boylan, who was appointed associate dean in July 2012, holds a Ph.D. in nursing from George Mason University, a master's degree in nursing from San Jose State University and a bachelor's degree in nursing from Rutgers University. She also has a post master's certificate as a family nurse practitioner from Marymount University. She is also certified in home health, rehabilitation, and rheumatology.

Before coming to Quinnipiac, Neal-Boylan was graduate program coordinator at Southern Connecticut State University. She also has taught at the Yale School of Nursing, where she was an associate professor.

Nursing runs in Neal-Boylan’s blood. Her mother, Natalie Rotkoff, is a retired registered nurse.

“She really modeled for me what nursing was all about and impressed me with the depth and breadth of her knowledge,” Neal-Boylan said. “She is an exceptional nurse and I watched her help so many people along the way. She’s given me a lot of my ideas and kept me very grounded so I never lose sight of the fact that bedside nurses should be valued for what they do.”

Quinnipiac is a private, coeducational, nonsectarian institution located 90 minutes north of New York City and two hours from Boston. The university enrolls 6,500 full-time undergraduate and 2,500 graduate students in 58 undergraduate and more than 20 graduate programs of study in its School of Business and Engineering, School of Communications, School of Education, School of Health Sciences, School of Law, Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine, School of Nursing and College of Arts and Sciences. Quinnipiac consistently ranks among the top regional universities in the North in U.S. News & World Report’s America’s Best Colleges issue. The 2013 issue of U.S. News & World Report’s America’s Best Colleges named Quinnipiac as the top up-and-coming school with master’s programs in the Northern Region. Quinnipiac also is recognized in Princeton Review’s “The Best 377 Colleges.” The Chronicle of Higher Education has named Quinnipiac among the “Great Colleges to Work For.” For more information, please visit www.quinnipiac.edu. Connect with Quinnipiac on Facebook at www.facebook.com/quinnipiacuniversity and follow Quinnipiac on Twitter @QuinnipiacU.

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