Robin Hertel, EdS, MSN, RN, CMSRN, a senior nursing content and training specialist at Ascend Learning, has been named an inaugural member of the Fellows of the Association of Medical-Surgical Nurses (AMSN).

Hertel will be recognized at the annual AMSN conference in September, when she and nine other fellows will be honored. The inaugural fellows will establish the criteria and format for future fellows selections and activities.

“Medical-surgical nursing is my passion. To be an inaugural fellow of this specialty organization, along with other esteemed leaders in AMSN and the profession of nursing, is such an honor,” Hertel said. “I feel humbled and so grateful to the coaches and leaders who guided me during my nursing career. Becoming a fellow is truly a pinnacle experience!”

In informing Hertel of this honor, AMSN President Marisa Streelman, DNP, RN, CMSRN, NE-BC, wrote: “The contributions you have made to medical-surgical nursing and your engagement with AMSN make this honorary recognition especially meaningful. The title of AMSN fellow represents the nurse who provides volunteer leadership, strategic direction, advocacy, education, research, and publications that have given us the resources to define the specialty of medical-surgical nursing.”

Hertel has been a member of AMSN since 2004 and has served as president of its board of directors, an advisor for AMSN’s initiative on diversity, equity, and inclusivity, and editor of Med-Surg Nurse Life magazine. She also has served as a member of the Medical-Surgical Nursing Certification Board, the Nursing Organizations Alliance Board, and the Medical-Surgical Nursing Journal editorial board.  

Hertel has been a medical-surgical nurse since 1993 and practiced at Hays Medical Center in Hays, Kan., before taking a faculty role at North Central Kansas Technical College, also in Hays. She joined Ascend Learning, the parent company of ATI Nursing Education, in 2014. In her current role as a senior nursing content and training specialist, Hertel works in the Innovation Learning and Assessment Solutions division to manage the development of solutions that help nurse educators and academic programs thrive.