Donna Shalala, PhD, has been honored with an award “for particularly distinguished leadership” for her role as chair of the committee that produced The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health report of 2010.

 The National Academy of Medicine awarded the David Rall Medal to Shalala at its annual meeting. The opening words of the NAM announcement of the award: ”Shalala’s chairmanship of the Committee on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Initiative on the Future of Nursing combined her great insight, respect for science, interpersonal skills, and enormous energy with remarkable instincts for both tactics and strategy.” The announcement also cites “Shalala’s masterful leadership of the committee led to a superb report that forged a movement and is recognized as a game-changer in efforts to expand access to and improve quality of health care and to build a culture of health.”