Kimberly Dion Named Fellow in International Academy of Addictions Nursing

Kimberly (Kim) Dion, clinical professor in the Elaine Marieb College of Nursing, has been named a Fellow in the International Academy of Addictions Nursing (IAAN).

IAAN is an internationally recognized assembly of addiction leaders with members in the U.S., Ireland, Brazil, Canada, Holland and the United Kingdom.

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IAAN is responsible and accountable to the International Nurses Society on Addictions (IntNSA) Board of Directors. Its mission is to foster excellence in nursing practice, administration, research and education in addictions nursing by recognizing and capitalizing on the wisdom of outstanding individuals in the profession who have contributed to addictions nursing in sustained and significant ways. IAAN Fellows are selected based on several criteria, including teaching/learning innovation, research and leadership in addictions nursing.

 Fellows are expected to provide visionary leadership in addictions nursing and in the Academy, and to support the vision of the International Nurses Society on Addictions (IntNSA).

Dion earned a bachelor's degree in nursing at UMass Amherst, an M.S. in nursing at the University of Hartford, and a Ph.D. in Nursing at UMass Amherst. She is a certified addiction registered nurse, a National League for nursing certified nurse educator, and is certified in intranasal naloxone train-the-trainer by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health Bureau of Substance Abuse Services.

In October 2021, she received the American Nurses Association Massachusetts Excellence in Nursing Research Award.

Dion has been a member of the UMass Amherst nursing clinical faculty since 2005 and has provided clinical and didactic instruction for undergraduate and graduate students in a variety of healthcare settings.

She is currently the departmental Commonwealth Honors Program Director. She serves on several community, College of Nursing and campus committees and task forces and has presented her research in numerous publications and at local, regional, national and international conferences.

Dion says about joining the ranks of IAAN Fellows, “I am honored to be recognized for my work of decreasing stigma towards those with substance use disorder.”