Editor's note: Kathleen Shannon Dorcy's FAAN induction ceremony occurred Saturday, October 7, 2017. The post below originally ran on June 26, 2017, in recognition of FAAN's announcement.
For Seattle Cancer Care Alliance’s Director of Nursing Research, Education and Practice, a lifetime of continuing education and elevating the work of fellow nurses and physicians has helped define her career. Now, the American Academy of Nursing has put her in the spotlight, naming Kathleen Shannon Dorcy, PhD, RN, an Academy Fellow.
For SCCA patients and their families, the recognition means that the nursing staff integral to providing the quality care they expect and need is shepherded by a nurse who has been recognized with one of the highest honors in the nursing profession.
One of approximately 2,400 fellows nationwide, Shannon Dorcy has embodied nursing excellence throughout her career. She has presented at more than 80 international, national and local conferences on topics ranging from clinical trial enrollment, the assessment of care and the role of the oncology nurse. The recognition is the first to be made to any nurse at SCCA.
Shannon Dorcy has worked in clinical research to implement the best and newest treatments to patients in the Pacific Northwest. Her career began as a clinical research nurse working with bone marrow transplantation teams. Teams led by Nobel Laureate Dr. Don Thomas, whose work in bone marrow transplants (an early form of immunotherapy) transformed the way people are treated for aggressive blood cancers.
Shannon Dorcy attributes her election into the Academy to the leadership and mentoring of SCCA, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, colleagues, patients, and the support of her family that has allowed her to pursue a career in academic clinical research and teaching.
The American Academy of Nursing defines their fellows as those that are transforming the American healthcare system by:
- Enhancing the quality of health and nursing;
- Promoting healthy aging and human development across the life continuum;
- Reducing health disparities and inequalities;
- Shaping healthy behaviors and environments
- Integrating mental and physical health; and
- Strengthening the nursing and health delivery system, nationally and internationally.
Learn more about what it means to be a nurse at Fred Hutch.
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