Dr. Barbara Jones (third from left) at the NAP induction ceremony
Dr. Barbara Jones (third from left) at the NAP induction ceremony

Assistant dean for health affairs Barbara Jones is one of five social workers recently elected to the National Academies of Practice (NAP) in honor of their achievements and contributions to the health care profession.

Membership in the NAP is an honor extended to those who have excelled in their profession and are dedicated to furthering practice, scholarship and policy in support of interprofessional care. The central purpose of NAP is to advise public policy makers on health care issues using NAP’s unique perspective — that of expert practitioners and scholars joined in interdisciplinary dialogue. Founded in 1981, NAP is an interdisciplinary, non-profit organization, with membership representing fourteen health care professions willing to serve as distinguished advisors to health care policy makers in Congress and elsewhere. The academies of practice within the NAP include: Audiology, Dentistry, Medicine, Nursing, Occupational Therapy, Optometry, Osteopathic Medicine, Pharmacy, Physical Therapy, Podiatric Medicine, Psychology, Social Work, Speech & Language Pathology and Veterinary Medicine.

New members were inducted following a forum on “Engaging the Patient and Family in Patient-Centered Care: An Interprofessional Approach.” NAP has sponsored an annual forum for several years on critical issues of health care policy and practice, and has made policy statements of interest to federal, state and local officials.