Anne Hirsch
Anne Hirsch,PhD, APRN, FAANP, FAAN has improved the quality of life for thousands of people in Washington as a nurse practitioner, nurse educator, administrator, scholar and nurse advocate.
Anne began her nursing career as a critical care and charge nurse at Island Hospital in Anacortes, where she served as local unit chairperson before moving to the cardiovascular intensive care unit at Providence Hospital in Seattle. After trying teaching, she became a passionate nurse educator endeavoring to bring her practice knowledge and expertise into the classroom. Since 1978, Anne has held multiple professional roles as a nurse educator, including associate dean and interim dean roles at Pacific Lutheran University, Washington State University (WSU), Seattle University and the University of Washington (UW). She is currently an associate professor in the Department of Child, Family, and Population Health Nursing at the UW School of Nursing, where she also serves as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs.
Anne earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from WSU; a master’s degree in physiological nursing from UW; a doctorate in nursing from Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis; and an Executive Leadership Certificate from Seattle University. She also completed a post-graduate certificate as a family nurse practitioner and currently practices in primary care settings and shelters in the community.
In her capacity as associate or interim dean, Anne has been responsible for securing millions of dollars in training grants and scholarships, including grants to expand enrollment opportunities for high-demand fields and increasing the diversity of nursing education programs, and an over $4 million grant in partnership with Premera aimed at promoting rural health through the training, recruitment and retention of nurse practitioners for rural practice.
Anne has also participated in research projects with funding from eminent organizations. These include a National Council of State Boards of Nursing grant to study the use of simulated clinical experiences in nursing education; a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grant for the Future of Nurse Scholars program; and a Jonas Scholars Program on veteran health care funded by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing.
Anne’s legacy as a passionate educator who brings her practice knowledge into the classroom has created a nursing workforce which better reflects the population nurses serve. Her ability to listen and adapt to change reflects the professional value of listening with compassion. The thousands of students who have benefited from Anne's work as an educator will continue to improve the quality of care for the patients they serve — and many of them will become educators to carry on her work.
Anne has also been an inspirational mentor to nurse educators across all ranks in Washington state. Throughout her tenure in nursing education administration, she has guided, coached, mentored and taught potential and current nursing faculty the art and science of rigorous nursing education. She is a highly respected collaborative consultant with multiple universities as well as community and technical college nursing programs.
In recognition of her transformative leadership and significant contributions, Anne was inducted as a fellow of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners in 2014 and a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing in 2015. In 2016, she received the Shining Star award from King County Nurses Association. WSNA honored Anne with the 2017 Nurse Researcher Award and the 2021 Honorary Recognition Award; the awards are testimony to the significance of her WSNA contributions, which include her service as research representative on the Professional Nursing and Health Care Council.
Anne’s enduring and substantial contributions reflect a very rare combination of continuous scholarly achievement and pragmatic, collaborative success to materially improve health and health care through advancing nursing education creativity, quality, access, policy and standards.