Richard Irwin receives the GE Healthcare-AACN Pioneering Spirit Award from AACN past presidents Dorrie Fontaine, left, and Kathleen McCauley, right.
Pulmonologist Richard Irwin, MD, professor of medicine, a leading advocate for interdisciplinary collaboration between medicine and nursing, received the GE Healthcare-AACN Pioneering Spirit Award from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses. The award was given at the 2013 National Teaching Institute & Critical Care Exposition in Boston, which took place in May 18. This AACN Visionary Leadership Award recognizes significant contributions that influence high acuity and critical care nursing.
Dr. Irwin serves as chair of critical care operations at UMass Memorial Medical Center and as editor-in-chief of the journal CHEST, a position he has held since 2005.
He is recognized as a dedicated advocate for patient safety, patient-focused care, collaborative leadership and interdisciplinary practice and education. During his presidency of the American College of Chest Physicians, Irwin heightened interdisciplinary awareness of his organization’s significant role in critical care medicine.
