Mary Lou Sole (OVGH 1975) currently a professor in University of Central Florida’s College of Nursing, delivered the Distinguished Research Lecture at the American Association of Critical Care Nurses National Teaching Institute & Critical Care Exposition on Monday, May 17, 2010 in Washington, D.C. Mary Lou delivered the research lecture entitled “ How I learned my ABCs—Action, Back to Basics, Collaboration and Discovery.” She was chosen for this great honor for her significant contributions to acute and critical care through her activities in nursing research.
Sole, who has a doctorate in adult health, is an expert in the area of airway management and mechanical ventilation, infection prevention in acute care, and critical care nursing. She is the lead investigator on a National Institutes of Health nursing research grant related to airway management in critically ill patients. Her book “Introduction to Critical Care Nursing,” currently in its fifth edition, was named the 2010 Book of the Year by the American Journal of Nursing.
In UCF’s , she teaches graduate-level courses and coordinates the Clinical Nurse Leader and Clinical Nurse Specialist master’s programs. She also oversees the adult-gerontology Clinical Nurse Specialist track for the new post-baccalaureate Doctor of Nursing Practice program.
Recognized nationally and internationally as a leader in critical care nursing, Dr. Sole is a Fellow in both the American Academy of Nursing and in the American College of Critical Care Medicine. She was recognized last year by the AACN as the Flame of Excellence Award.
The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses was founded in 1969 and is based in Aliso Viejo, Calif., AACN is the largest specialty nursing organization in the world. AACN represents more than 500,000 acute and critical care nurses and claims more than 235 chapters worldwide. The organization’s vision is to create a healthcare system driven by the needs of patients and their families in which acute and critical care nurses can make their optimal contribution. To learn more about AACN, visit aacn.org.