The University of Texas at Austin School of Nursing alumnae Megan Pfitzinger Lippe, PhD, MSN, RN, associate professor at UT Health San Antonio, and Robin Page, PhD, APRN, CNM, FACNM, associate professor at Texas A&M University School of Nursing, have been selected as Fellows of the American Academy of Nursing (AAN).
Lippe and Page join the latest class of over 250 nurses inducted into the AAN, which now has more than 3,000 members. The 2023 inductees were selected for their significant contributions to the nursing profession and expertise in policy, research, administration, practice, and academia.
As a national leader in palliative nursing care education, Lippe has published in areas related to palliative care education, simulation, interprofessional education, and social justice. She has been a registered nurse since 2009, and she earned her BSN, MSN in nursing education and PhD from UT Austin. She taught at UT Austin from 2011 to 2016 and at the University of Alabama from 2016 to 2021. Lippe joined the faculty at UT Health San Antonio in Fall 2021.
Lippe is a faculty member in the End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC). She is the lead author for AACN-endorsed national palliative care competence statement revisions for undergraduate and graduate education — CARES and G-CARES, respectively — and the ELNEC undergraduate/new graduate curriculum. In collaboration with colleagues, Lippe has conducted multiple studies that have yielded new quantitative measures to assess primary palliative care curricula, self-competence, knowledge and competence in nursing students and entry-to-practice nurses. She has developed and tested multiple high-fidelity palliative care simulations and has worked as a simulation consultant and specialist. Lippe is a 2019 Cambia Sojourns and recipient of the 2017 ELNEC Award and the 2019 Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association New Investigator Award. In 2023, she was also inducted as a fellow of the Academy of Nursing Education.
“I am incredibly humbled and honored to be inducted as a Fellow of the AAN (FAAN),” Lippe said. “Since graduating with my PhD from UT Austin in 2016, I have devoted my time, talents, and treasures to advancing palliative care education in schools of nursing throughout the country. With over 30 years remaining in my career, I have much more to give. I plan to continue to dedicate my career to promoting palliative care education. Being inducted as a FAAN is instrumental in supporting my work toward the goal of ensuring that all students enter professional practice prepared to provide high-quality care to patients with serious illness and their families.”
Robin Page is the visionary founder and director of the Program of Excellence for Mothers, Children and Families at Texas A&M.
Through partnerships with interdisciplinary thought leaders, she brings evidence-based care to the most vulnerable. For 30 years, she has provided direct services as a Certified Nurse-Midwife focused on the highest risk populations, including as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala. Her research impact is exemplified by her more than two dozen publications and active funding of more than $11 million as principal investigator on extramurally funded grants centered on maternal health equity. For the Texas Research to Policy Collaborative, she wrote sections of a maternal health policy brief distributed to lawmakers who successfully passed postpartum Medicaid expansion. Her leadership in maternal health led to her appointment by the Texas Health Commissioner as the sole Certified Nurse-Midwife on the Texas Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review Committee. As a leading voice and maternal health advocate, Page advises state legislators on the power of nurses to provide high-quality, accessible care for underserved, high-risk populations.
Page earned her BSN at the University of Kentucky, MS from University of Colorado Health Sciences and PhD from UT Austin.
“Being inducted as a FAAN is the pinnacle honor in the profession and one I have aspired to for many years,” Page said. “It is recognition of my impact as a nurse educator, clinician and researcher to mitigate maternal health disparities and strengthen support systems for children and families."