Two Emory Healthcare nurses have been inducted as fellows into the American College of Critical Care Medicine (ACCM) for their contributions to and long-standing work in critical care medicine. Mary D. Still, MSN, APRN, ACNS, CCRN and Mary Zellinger, RN, MN, ANP-BC, CCRN-CSC, CCNS, were inducted as ACCM fellows at the Society of Critical Care Medicine annual meeting this year.
Still has been a clinical nurse specialist in the surgical/transplant ICU at Emory University Hospital for 29 years. During her time at Emory, Still has coordinated and led a system-wide initiative on early identifiers of sepsis in critical care patients; developed and implemented evidence-based ICU protocols and procedures; and collaborated with health care teams on complex patients, including liver transplant patients, ventilator-dependent patients and severe sepsis patients.
Still received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Master of Science in Nursing at Georgia State University, a post Master’s Adult Nurse Practitioner degree from Emory University and a Clinical Nurse Specialist Certification at Georgia State.
Zellinger is a clinical nurse specialist in the cardiovascular critical care unit (CV-ICU) at Emory University Hospital and a collaborative faculty member in Emory’s Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing. Zellinger has worked at Emory since 1979. While at Emory, she has helped develop the cardiac transplant program, and worked closely with the educational preparation for the Ventricular Assist Device and ECMO (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation) programs. She is also collaborating with other members of the critical care interdisciplinary team in assessing and addressing burnout in critical care team members.
Zellinger received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Duke University, a Master in Nursing in adult health/critical care and a post Master’s Nurse Practitioner degree from Emory's School of Nursing. She is on the Board of Directors of the International Society of Cardiovascular Critical Care (FACTS-CARE), and on the Scientific Program Committees for the Society of Thoracic Surgery and the American College of Chest Physicians.
Both nurses have published their research in medical and nursing journals alike and have lectured at numerous conferences on the local and national levels.
"Mary Still and Mary Zellinger are exceptional nurses and leaders on their critical care units, and we are proud of their accomplishments," says Pam Cosper, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, director of critical care nursing at Emory University Hospital. "Their dedication to our patients and continued support to our multi-disciplinary teams are invaluable to the operations of our ICUs."
Criteria for induction into the ACCM include: at least 50 percent of time devoted to critical care in practice, research, administration or teaching for at least two years; ability to demonstrate a collaborative model of critical care involving several disciplines; have significant contributions in critical care program development, leadership or scholarly contributions; sponsorship by two individuals who can stand behind the professional history and merit of the applicant, plus others.