Welcome WSNA’s new Director of Nursing Practice & Health Policy

I am very pleased to announce the appointment of Joelle Fathi, DNP, RN, ARNP, to the position of Director of Nursing Practice and Health Policy for WSNA. Joelle comes to us from the Seattle area, where she was most recently the Program Director and Lead Nurse Practitioner for the Swedish Cancer Institute with Swedish Medical Center. She is currently assistant professor at the University of Washington School of Nursing,
 
WSNA is fortunate to have a nurse of Joelle’s caliber and experience to lead the association forward in our nursing practice and health policy work. Her demonstrated excellence in clinical practice, nursing leadership and education, and health care policy advocacy are an incredible asset for nurses in Washington state and beyond.
 
Joelle received her Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing from Seattle University in 1995 and worked as a bedside nurse in pediatric and adult oncology, burn/trauma and critical care at several medical centers in Seattle. After receiving her Master’s in Nursing from the University of Washington and board certification as an Adult Acute Care Nurse Practitioner in 2000, she worked as a primary care provider, serving patients’ diverse needs from the community front lines of the health care system. In her time at Swedish, Joelle worked in solid organ transplant as well as thoracic surgery, where she functioned as the lead nurse practitioner in the development and implementation of clinical programs including the Tobacco Related Diseases and Lung Cancer Screening Program, Center for Nicotine Dependence, and related Telehealth clinics.
 
Joelle states, “As nurses, on the front lines of clinical care, we often carry the answers and the skills to address challenges in a pragmatic and patient-centered approach. I have committed much of my clinical practice to identifying clinical problems or needs, designing and developing evidence-based clinical programs from the ground up to address these problems. This work has given me the opportunity to drive initiatives and build nationally recognized programs that are clinically based, federally regulated, and systemwide, at a high level. This rounded and fulfilling nursing career has led me to the next steps of my professional continuum with a sincere interest and desire to offer a robust, impactful and meaningful contribution to nurses on a broader level.”

Please join me in welcoming Joelle to WSNA!