For the Record provides information about recent professional activities and honors of University of Delaware faculty, staff, students and alumni.

Recent appointments, presentations, publications and honors in the College of Health Sciences include the following:

Honors

Ju Young Shin, associate professor of nursing, has been named a 2025 Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing – the highest honor in nursing. Shin was named to the 2025 cohort of nurse leaders for her work in advancing the Academy’s mission of improving health and achieving health equity by influencing policy through leadership, innovation, and science.

“I am honored to be inducted as a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing in October 2025,” said Shin. “I am grateful to my mentors and colleagues for their unwavering support throughout my journey as an educator, researcher, and clinician dedicated to improving care for older adults.”

Shin was sponsored for the prestigious honor by Kathleen Brewer-Smyth, professor in the School of Nursing (SON) and AAN Fellow.

“Because of her leadership in healthcare for aging adults with neurological conditions, Dr. Shin was selected to be one of only approximately 3,200 who may use the title of Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN), out of the estimated 29 million nurses worldwide,” said Brewer-Smyth.

Elizabeth Speakman, chief nurse administrator and senior associate dean of SON, said Shin will contribute to thought policy as a new inductee. “As a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN), I recognize that this distinction is both an honor and an opportunity to engage with thought leaders in nursing—both nationally and globally—on issues that advance health policy and practice in service of the public good,” Speakman. “Dr. Shin’s work with older adults exemplifies how she advances both the science and practice of nursing.”

Shin will be recognized for her substantial contributions to health and healthcare when she is inducted at the Academy’s annual Health Policy Conference in Washington, D.C., in October. Both Speakman and Brewer-Smyth were inducted in 2014.

Presentations

Susan Conaty-Buck, assistant professor of nursing and family nurse practitioner, was selected to make two presentations at the 2025 American Association of Nurse Practitioner's Annual Conference June 18 - 22.  Collaborating with faculty from the University of Texas at Tyler and a director of telehealth for a Minnesota state practice, Conaty-Buck provided a three-hour workshop to an overflow crowd of more than 200 nurse practitioners, entitled “Digital Literacy for the NP: Mastering Generative AI in Healthcare.” The workshop, selected by a highly competitive blind peer review process, explored the transformative potential of Generative AI in nurse practitioner (NP) practice. Conaty-Buck, who developed and coordinated the workshop, said, "In the ever-evolving healthcare landscape, integrating machine learning advanced technologies such as Generative AI can significantly strengthen patient care, streamline administrative tasks, and support clinical decision-making." Despite the buzz about AI promising to deliver multiple patient and practitioner benefits, many NPs have not had significant exposure to AI or opportunities to apply this technology to NP practice. The workshop was designed to help NPs bridge that knowledge gap by offering personalized, hands-on instruction to improve the NPs' digital literacy and comfort using basic AI tools. Conaty-Buck, who teaches health information technology topics to UD's graduate nursing and healthcare MBA students, said, "Healthcare providers need a basic understanding of Generative AI application for healthcare so they will have greater confidence when considering adoption of AI technologies to improve their daily practice.” The presentation also addressed potential ethical, legal and regulatory challenges with AI adoption and shared future opportunities for strengthening patient care and research using AI technologies. Conaty-Buck's second presentation "The Digital Dilemma: The NP’s Role in Preventing Healthcare Cybersecurity Breaches," was presented with Debbi Lindgren-Clendenen, a telehealth content expert from Minnesota, to alert NPs about the growing threat of cyberattacks in the healthcare sector, which has significantly increased since 2020 with the average cost reaching $10.93 million in 2023. This represents a 53.3% increase compared to 2020, making healthcare the most expensive industry for data breaches. The presentation provided real-world examples of current breaches which compromise patient safety, as well as caused significant financial penalties and reputational damages for healthcare practices. Conaty-Buck said, "NPs need an  understanding of healthcare cybersecurity including the increasing prevalence of ransomware attacks, phishing schemes, unauthorized access and third-party vulnerabilities that can impact the safety of their patients' data."  The presentation provided recommendations on cybercrime prevention and mitigation strategies such as employee training, AI-powered threat detection and secure telehealth platforms.  With more NPs owning and operating their own healthcare practice, Conaty-Buck noted, "NPs must maintain patient trust including belief that their healthcare provider is actively working to protect their private health information including taking action to minimize cybersecurity risks and ensure compliance with evolving regulatory standards in an increasingly digital healthcare landscape."