Newswise — WASHINGTON (Sept. 21, 2017) – Mary Wakefield, PhD, RN, FAAN, a former official with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), joins Georgetown University School of Nursing & Health Studies (NHS) as a visiting Distinguished Professor in the Practice of Health Care.
Wakefield is a former acting deputy secretary of HHS and former administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration at HHS – positions she held during the Obama administration.
“It is a considerable honor to welcome Dr. Wakefield to our academic community,” said NHS Dean Patricia Cloonan, PhD, RN. “Our school is poised to continue making important contributions in the broad domains of health equity and health workforce, and Dr. Wakefield’s expertise and presence will be a significant step in this pursuit.”
Wakefield, who will join NHS on October 1, said she plans to encourage students to think about the policy aspects of the health fields they will enter.
“Through my seminar, I would like to empower clinicians and health executives to see the connections between health policy and what happens to the patients they serve,” Wakefield said. “I view engagement in health policy as a professional responsibility.”
Throughout her career, Wakefield has worked to improve access to health care for underserved populations. While at HRSA, the agency received a big spending boost from the Affordable Care Act, Wakefield said, which allowed it to set up new community health centers in areas with high numbers of minority, immigrant, and low-income residents. Under her leadership, HRSA also took steps to increase and diversify the health care workforce, build up a home visiting program to bring health workers to vulnerable mothers and children, and further spread the use of telemedicine in rural areas.
Wakefield began her career practicing medical-surgical and intensive care nursing in her native North Dakota, and practiced clinically while earning a master’s degree and PhD in nursing from the University of Texas at Austin. A health policy course in her master’s degree program reinforced her commitment to shape health policy as a member of her state nurses association. She said these experiences set her on a path to become one of the few nurses to work in senior positions in federal health policy.
“The people I worked with on Capitol Hill tended to have a background in law or policy, not health care,” Wakefield said. “Because of my experience as a nurse, I knew about health care, including rural health and health professions education, and I used that experience to inform health policy. Having that hands-on experience matters.”
While she considered it a privilege to care for patients in clinical settings, Wakefield said early on she realized, “I could be providing care to six patients on a shift, or informing care for 60,000 or 6 million people through health policy. Both have impact for families and communities and benefit from nursing knowledge.”
In her position at Georgetown, Wakefield will lead policy seminars with NHS students and also meet with them informally to discuss their future careers and goals. Additionally, she will engage with faculty members on their areas of interest and deliver a public presentation to the university community.
Wakefield is a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and an elected member of the National Academies. Previously, she served as director of the Center for Rural Health and a tenured professor at the School of Medicine and Health Sciences at the University of North Dakota. In addition to her new role at Georgetown, Wakefield will return to her alma mater, the University of Texas at Austin School of Nursing, to serve as visiting professor and Distinguished Fellow of the Joseph H. Blades Centennial Memorial Professorship in Nursing.
About The School of Nursing & Health Studies Georgetown University School of Nursing & Health Studies is a values-based organization that educates the health workforce and advances practice, research, and scholarship—with a strong focus on reducing health disparities and promoting health equity around the globe. The multidisciplinary school houses academic programs—known for dynamic immersion experiences and excellent outcomes—at the bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral levels. Graduates pursue careers or further study in advanced practice and professional nursing, health management and health policy, law, medicine, public health, and scientific research. Alumni are leaders across industries. Since its founding in 1903, the school has consistently evolved to meet the changing needs of the health sector, all the while embracing Georgetown’s Catholic, Jesuit identity as a framework. Connect with NHS on Facebook (www.facebook.com/GeorgetownNHS) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/GtownNHS).
About Georgetown University Medical Center Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) is an internationally recognized academic medical center with a three-part mission of research, teaching and patient care (through MedStar Health). GUMC’s mission is carried out with a strong emphasis on public service and a dedication to the Catholic, Jesuit principle of cura personalis -- or “care of the whole person.” The Medical Center includes the School of Medicine and the School of Nursing & Health Studies, both nationally ranked; Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, designated as a comprehensive cancer center by the National Cancer Institute; and the Biomedical Graduate Research Organization, which accounts for the majority of externally funded research at GUMC including a Clinical and Translational Science Award from the National Institutes of Health. Connect with GUMC on Facebook (Facebook.com/GUMCUpdate), Twitter (@gumedcenter). Connect with Georgetown University School of Medicine on Facebook (Facebook.com/somgeorgetown), Twitter (gumedicine) and Instagram (@GeorgetownMedicine).
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