Felesia Bowen, PhD, DNP, PPCNP-BC, FAAN
The University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing
What made you want to become an FNINR Ambassador?
I want to interact with representatives to influence policy and nurses and patients in the U.S.
How long have you been an FNINR Ambassador?
2 years
What advice would you give your younger self?
Don't be afraid to be involved in politics. Politicians are people just like we are, they work for us.
What made you want to pursue a career in nursing?
Honestly, it was because I was an undeclared major and my mom told me do something. I wanted to be in a helping profession and med school was going to take too long, so I figured I'd give nursing a try! Once I started my clinical rotations, I knew I was in the right profession, especially when I began learning how to care for children and their families.
What book should every nurse read?
Medical Apartheid by Harriet A. Washington
What has been your most interesting/surprising outcome while conducting nursing research?
There is a subset of children with asthma who experience symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of their disease symptoms, even when their symptoms are controlled, and their lung function is perfectly normal.
What is a fun fact many people may not know about you?
I am a really good baker and cook.
About Felesia
Felesia Bowen PhD, DNP, PPCNP-BC, FAAN is Professor and Inaugural Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing. She is a decorated U.S. Army Nurse Corps veteran who earned her B.S. in nursing at Tuskegee University, master’s degree from Rutgers University, Ph.D. from Columbia University, and DNP from Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck, NJ.
Dr. Bowen has a long career in health disparities and equity. As the founder and inaugural PI of the Rutgers University School of Nursing-Newark, Center for Urban Youth and Families, she studied the intersectionality of structural racism, health equity and disparity in minority children, and communities. Dr. Bowen was inducted as a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing, for her work in pediatric health disparities. Dr. Bowen is an expert in community based participatory research methods and uses these principles in her DEI work. She is known and respected for her upstream work addressing nursing workforce diversity. Dr. Bowen is a firm believer that student nurse diversity is necessary to decrease health disparities in minority and marginalized individuals.
Dr. Bowen is a nationally certified primary care pediatric nurse practitioner and President-elect of the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners with a term of service from June 2024-June 2027.
