Professor Diana TF LEE from the Faculty of Medicine at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), along with other nurse leaders from all over the world, will be inducted as a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN) at its Annual Policy Conference in Washington, D.C. on 17 October 2015.

Professor LEE is currently Professor of Nursing, The Nethersole School of Nursing, Faculty of Medicine at CUHK. She has participated in a wide range of community services including chairing the Nursing Council of Hong Kong and being a member of the Hospital Authority Board and the Elderly Commission. Her research interests are in the areas of gerontology and community care for older people. She has published more than two hundred papers in various important journals and conference proceedings. Her research has a profound impact on the formulation of health care policy and health care service development in Hong Kong.

Professor LEE remarked, “As the population is ageing rapidly, the community’s demand for social and health care for older people increases. In this connection, we have to prepare the next generation of medical professionals with a wealth of gerontology knowledge. I would like to thank my research team and collaborators for their strong support over the years. I hope we can continue to enhance our teaching, research and social services, with reference to overseas experience, to contribute to the greater community.”

Professor LEE has initiated a number of health care and education projects that have had a cumulative impact on relevant policy and practice. For one of these, she was awarded the Excellent Research Award by the Food and Health Bureau in 2007 for the research on “A care protocol to reduce hospital readmissions of elderly residential care home patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)”. Two pioneer programmes in gerontology were also made possible by the innovative educational policy of Professor Lee. The “CADENZA Training Programme” is an interdisciplinary territory-wide education programme launched in 2008 to provide general and professional education in gerontology for the general public, informal caregivers of older people and professional social and health care workers who are working with the aging population. The second is a new undergraduate programme in Gerontology, the first of its kind to be Government funded. It was established in 2012, when Professor LEE was Director of The Nethersole School of Nursing, to respond to the expanding ageing population and the associated manpower shortage in health and social elderly care services in Hong Kong.

There are currently over 48,000 registered and enrolled nurses in Hong Kong. Being the Chairman of the Nursing Council of Hong Kong, Professor LEE will continue to do her best to ensure the quality of nursing practice and the competence of the nursing workforce to meet the rapidly changing health care needs of society.

About the American Academy of Nursing (AAN)

The Academy is currently comprised of more than 2,300 nurse leaders in education, management, practice, policy and research from 25 countries including the United States, Australia and Canada. Academy fellows include hospital and government administrators, college deans and renowned scientific researchers. Fellow selection criteria include evidence of significant contributions to nursing and health care, and sponsorship by two current Academy fellows. Applicants are reviewed by a panel comprised of elected and appointed fellows, and selection is based, in part, on the extent the nominee's nursing career has influenced health policies and the health and wellbeing of all.

Professor Diana TF Lee, Professor of Nursing, The Nethersole School of Nursing, Faculty of Medicine, CUHK, inducted as Fellow of American Academy of Nursing.