Nurse, professor, scientist and activist all aptly describe Dr. Elizabeth Aquino.
As an associate professor in the School of Nursing at DePaul University and president of the American Nurses Association-Illinois, Aquino has also risen to national prominence in her field. In 2019, she was named one of “Five Hispanic Nurse Trailblazers Everyone Should Know” by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“Dr. Aquino has established herself as an exemplary nurse leader and positive role model by advancing Latinx nurses’ roles, enhancing professional development for nurses and nursing students, and increasing the pipeline of Latinx nurses,” says Gloria E. Barrera, a nurse and educator who has served with Aquino on the boards of several professional associations.
Aquino’s current research includes two COVID-19-related projects. She is principal investigator of a survey examining “nurse preceptor perceptions of the hospital as a learning environment for nursing students during the COVID-19 pandemic.” Aquino is also co-investigator of a study to qualitatively describe the experiences of 100 nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic in order to inform clinical practice and policy development.
“We interviewed frontline nurses to learn about their experiences caring for patients with COVID-19 during the first wave,” Aquino tells Diverse. “Even [with] the fear that many nurses feel right now with the COVID-19 pandemic, nurses continue to fight on the frontlines to provide the best care to their patients and their families and abide by our Code of Ethics.”
She says the nurses “had powerful stories that demonstrated resilience as they confronted the public health crisis head-on.”
Aquino believes in advocating for important causes and taking action to bring about change. She helped organize efforts to address the medical shortages in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria and she helped Chicago hospitals obtain personal protective equipment (PPE) during the early months of the COVID-19 crisis.
