Joanne Disch, RN, PhD, FAAN
Clinical Professor, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
Joanne Disch is Professor ad Honorem at the University of Minnesota School of Nursing. She received her BS from the University of Wisconsin, Madison; her MSN in Cardiovascular Nursing from the University of Alabama in Birmingham; and her PhD in Nursing from the University of Michigan.
Starting her career as a staff nurse in cardiovascular intensive care, Dr Disch has served as a chief nurse executive in two major medical centers, as interim dean at the University of Minnesota School of Nursing, and has held numerous national leadership positions, such as president of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, Chair of ANA’s Committee on Nursing Practice Standards and Guidelines, and board member and chair of the national board of AARP. Currently she is Chair of the Board of Directors of Aurora Health Care in Milwaukee WI, and chair of the Board of Trustees of Chamberlain College of Nursing. She is a past president of the American Academy of Nursing.
Her research has centered on nurse/physician relationships and quality and safety within health care organizations. In 2014, she and two colleagues co-authored the award-winning text Person and Family Centered Care. She has received a number of awards for her work, including two from Sigma Theta Tau International – one for excellence in fostering professional standards and one for excellence in leadership; and several other awards, among them Outstanding Faculty Member at Rush College of Nursing; the President’s Award from the American Academy of Nursing; and the Distinguished Alumna Award from the University of Wisconsin.
