LSU Health New Orleans’ Bonanno Named AAN Fellow

August 10, 2022

Laura S. Bonanno, PhD, DNP, CRNA, Professor of Nursing and Director of the Nurse Anesthesia Program at LSU Health New Orleans School of Nursing, has been selected as a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing. She is the only nurse leader from Louisiana who will be inducted in the 2022 Class of Fellows. The inductees will be recognized for their extraordinary contributions to improve health locally and globally at the Academy’s annual Health Policy Conference, taking place on October 27-29, 2022, in Washington, DC.

Induction into the Academy is a significant milestone in a nurse leader’s career. Fellows’ accomplishments are honored by their colleagues within and outside the profession. Fellows are selected based on their contributions and impact on advancing the public’s health.

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“This latest honor recognizes Dr. Bonanno’s outstanding contributions to health and health care,” says Dr. Demetrius Porche, Dean and Professor of LSU Health New Orleans School of Nursing. “Her efforts have greatly expanded access to essential care in Louisiana, particularly in rural and medically underserved parts of the state.”

Dr. Bonanno has led LSU Health’s Nurse Anesthesia Program since 2007. She maintains a clinical practice as a part-time Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) and clinical instructor at University Medical Center in New Orleans, Louisiana. Dr. Bonanno has more than 27 years of experience as a CRNA. She participates in annual medical/surgical mission trips to Guatemala.

Dr. Bonanno has held several key leadership positions in nursing and nurse anesthesia. She currently serves as a CRNA Educator Member on the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educations Programs (COA) and previously served as Vice-President and President of the COA. She is a member of the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA) Faculty Stabilization Task Force and previously served on the AANA/COA Full Scope of Practice Competency Task Force. Dr. Bonanno served two consecutive four-year terms (2013-2021) on the Louisiana State Board of Nursing – four years as Vice President and two years as President. She served on the AANA Practice Committee for four years and the AANA Government Relations Committee for one year. She served two terms as President of the Louisiana Association of Nurse Anesthetists (1998 and 2001) and has held several other leadership roles in the association.

Dr. Bonanno’s research interest and publication areas include Interprofessional Education and Clinical Evaluation. She has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals and books. She is a Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Comprehensive Systematic Review trainer. Dr. Bonanno is an experienced grant writer and has authored and/or served as principal investigator of numerous funded grants. Dr. Bonanno serves as a peer-reviewer for several nursing and health care-related journals and is on the editorial board of The International Journal of Student Nurse Anesthetists.

Dr. Bonanno was named the Advanced Practice Nurse of the Year in 2016 by the Louisiana State Nurses Association. She will be inducted as a Fellow in the American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology in August 2022. She has also been recognized by the National Scholars Honor Society, the Golden Key International Honour Society, and Phi Kappa Phi. She was named one of the Great 100 Nurses of Louisiana in 2008.

Dr. Bonanno received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Southeastern Louisiana University (1987); a Master of Science from Charity Hospital/Xavier University School of Nurse Anesthesiology (1995); a Doctor of Nursing Practice from the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center in Memphis (2008); and a PhD in Educational Administration from the University of New Orleans (2019).

Once the newest Fellows are inducted, the Academy will comprise more than 3,000 leaders who are experts in policy, research, administration, practice, and academia who champion health and wellness, locally and globally.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans (LSU Health New Orleans) educates Louisiana's health care professionals. The state's health sciences university leader, LSU Health New Orleans includes a School of Medicine with campuses in Baton Rouge and Lafayette, the state's only School of Dentistry, Louisiana's only public School of Public Health, and Schools of Allied Health Professions, Nursing, and Graduate Studies. LSU Health New Orleans faculty take care of patients in public and private hospitals and clinics throughout the region. In the vanguard of biosciences research, the LSU Health New Orleans research enterprise generates jobs and enormous annual economic impact. LSU Health New Orleans faculty have made lifesaving discoveries and continue to work to prevent, advance treatment or cure disease. To learn more, visit http://www.lsuhsc.edu, http://www.twitter.com/LSUHealthNO, or http://www.facebook.com/LSUHSC.