MarySue Heilemann, associate professor in the UCLA School of Nursing, has been inducted as a fellow into the American Academy of Nursing. Heilemann has focused her scholarship on improving the accuracy of portrayals of nurses in film and television. She delivered a lecture in June 2015 to the National Institute of Nursing Research Director’s Lecture titled, “From the Silver Screen to the Web: Media Portrayals of Nursing” and frequently speaks or consults on the topic.
The academy works to advance health policy and practice through the generation, synthesis and dissemination of nursing knowledge. The academy's more than 2,400 members, known as fellows, are nursing leaders in education management, practice and research and include association executives; university presidents, chancellors, and deans; state and federal political appointees; hospital chief executives and vice presidents for nursing; nurse consultants; researchers; and entrepreneurs.
In her current work, Heilemann is developing a new model for nursing science that features storytelling on multiple digital platforms to showcase nurses and nursing as part of powerful and promising health interventions. Fueled by insight from participants, and drawing on previous qualitative and quantitative research with Latinos in the United States, Heilemann integrates issues of motivation, resilience, intergenerational cultural expectations, social justice, and gender issues to create a relatable story of everyday experiences, including challenges encountered and options for managing symptoms of depression and/or anxiety.
