We are delighted to announce this year’s recipient of the Margaret Comerford Freda Award for Editorial Leadership – Maureen Shawn Kennedy, MA, RN, FAAN, Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of Nursing (AJN). In addition to her role at the helm of AJN, Shawn has
- Shawn was the lead investigator for an international study on ethics around guest and ghost authorship in nursing publications. This was the first study to examine this issue in nursing. Findings indicated a higher rate of guest and ghost authors than found in medical journals. The study was published in the Journal of Nursing Scholarship in 2014 and presented at INANE and ICN to foster changes in these practices.
- Shawn has been a leader within and outside of the nursing profession, as demonstrated by her active membership in the Association of Health Care Journalists and the International Congress on Peer Review and Biomedical Publication, both presenting and chairing panel sessions at their annual meetings.
- She has received numerous awards for excellence, such as from the Association of Women in Communications and the American Society Health Publication Editors for her outstanding leadership in publishing.
- She has mentored numerous nursing editors through participation in INANE as a speaker, member of the program planning and the awards committees.
We offer not only our congratulations, but deep appreciation to Shawn for her many notable contributions to nursing and to publishing in nursing!