WP Nursing Professor and Alumna Lydia Albuquerque Selected as Fellow in the Newly Established Academy of Diversity Leaders in Nursing

William Paterson University School of Nursing professor Lydia Albuquerque, DNP, RN, ACNP-BC, CCRN has been inducted as an inaugural fellow in the Academy of Diversity Leaders in Nursing (ADNL). The new Academy, sponsored by the National Black Nurses Association, recognizes nurse leaders for their significant and sustained contribution to advance justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in nursing and health care. 

“I am honored to be chosen as one of the inaugural ADNL fellows, especially coming from William Paterson University—where our collective commitment to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion is at the forefront,” says Dr. Albuquerque, who earned her doctor of nursing practice degree from William Paterson. “An inclusive environment in academia helps to create an equitable future for all.”

A nurse practitioner with specialization in acute care and cardiology, Dr. Albuquerque’s scholarly work seeks to improve health outcomes for patients of diverse backgrounds. To date, she has secured more than $300,000 in grants from the New Jersey Department of Health for a program operated out of Federally Qualified Health Centers in Newark, New Jersey. Using wearable technology to increase exercise, diet control, and medication adherence among Black and Hispanic women, the program seeks to decrease these at-risk patients’ rates of hypertension and stroke.

Additionally, Dr. Albuquerque has worked to enhance equity and inclusion in the nursing profession through her support of William Paterson’s School of Nursing students. Thanks to a Health Resources and Service Administration grant she secured, the University has been providing scholarships to nursing students who are first-generation college students, as well as those who attended high school in underserved communities.

Moreover, she serves as the inaugural commissioner to address racism in nursing—a joint effort between the American Nurses Association (ANA), National Black Nurses Association, National Coalition of Ethnic Minority Nurses, and National Association of Hispanic Nurses. She also participates in the Racial Reckoning Think Tank organized by ANA, which Albuquerque says is “critical in creating purposeful dialogue and even more meaningful action.”

Albuquerque is eager to participate with the Academy of Diversity Leaders in Nursing alongside the other 174 inaugural fellows from across the nation, whom she describes as “a distinguished group of respected thought leaders with expertise in justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion.”

“Cultivating this group is a way of ensuring access to high-quality, evidence-based knowledge and interventions that will support the health of all people,” she adds.

Also a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and a fellow of the Nursing Academies of Practice, Albuquerque is a member and past president of the National Association of Indian Nurses.

08/04/24