ETSU’s Dr. Holly Wei awarded ‘Book of the Year’

Published 3:45 pm Wednesday, March 29, 2023

JOHNSON CITY – East Tennessee State University’s Dr. Holly Wei earned a 2022 Book of the Year Award from the American Journal of Nursing (AJN), considered the profession’s premier journal.

The leadership textbook titled “Visionary Leadership in Healthcare: Excellence in Practice, Policy, and Ethics” was the first-place winner in AJN’ “Nursing Management and Leadership” category. Wei is a professor and associate dean for Research and Scholarship at ETSU’s College of Nursing. She co-authored the book with Dr. Sara Horton-Deutsch, director of the University of San Francisco and Kaiser Permanente Partnership.

The award-winning book challenges nurse leaders to look to the future to create an environment reflective of excellence—and also provides strategies for addressing the challenge.

“We approach leadership from a global perspective, focusing on how nursing leadership has evolved around the globe,” Wei said. “Our book highlights the value of leadership in challenging times, when good leadership can make all the difference. We also examine wisdom in leadership and the importance of effective leadership in not just nursing, but across health care.”

Wei earned her Ph.D. in nursing from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Her research focuses on organizational culture, leadership development, epigenetic biomarkers, and health promotion across the lifespan.

She has published more than 70 professional publications and delivered over 80 presentations, influencing tens of thousands of nurses globally. She is known nationally and internationally for her nursing practice models and Convergent Care Theory.

Several hospitals have used her nursing models and theory to promote organizational caring culture and patient care quality.  She is a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN). She serves on three nursing journals’ advisory and editorial board positions, as an associate editor for the International Journal for Human Caring and a member of the International Association of Human Caring’s board of directors.

Wei has received numerous prestigious awards, including the International Leininger Caring-Culture Award, the Board of Governors Distinguished Professor, DAISY Extraordinary Faculty, Outstanding Research Scholar, Scholar-Teacher Award and the North Carolina Nurses Association Nurse Educator of the Year.