UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. — Bernadette Mazurek Melnyk, a nurse scientist and leader whose work has shaped evidence-based practice, mental health and clinician well-being, has been named a "Living Legend" by the American Academy of Nursing (AAN).
The "Living Legend" designation, the organization’s highest honor, recognizes a small number of nurse leaders each year for extraordinary, sustained contributions to the profession.
Melnyk has led the evidence-based practice movement in nursing since the late 1990s. Her textbook, “Evidence-Based Practice in Nursing & Healthcare: A Guide to Best Practice,” now in its fifth edition, is used in nursing and health sciences programs worldwide.
Melnyk’s ties to the Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing span more than a decade. She delivered the college’s Jean Vallance Lecture in Nursing Innovation during its 50th anniversary celebration weekend in 2014 and returned in 2025 to keynote both the WE LEAD Inspirational Speaker Series and the Translating Research into Innovations in Practice Symposium, where she spoke on pairing evidence-based practice with nurse and clinician well-being.
A national leader in addressing nurse burnout, Melnyk has embedded mindfulness and cognitive-behavioral skills into nursing education and clinical practice. Her COPE (Creating Opportunities for Personal Empowerment) cognitive-behavioral skills-building programs for mental health and well-being are reimbursed in primary care practices across all 50 states and used in K-12 schools, universities and internationally.
Penn State’s Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing has implemented programs based on COPE since 2021 as part of its work to support well-being among nursing students, faculty and staff. That work has been recognized through the college’s recent selection as one of 26 organizations to participate in the second cohort of the National Academy of Medicine’s Change Maker Accelerators program, a yearlong initiative designed to help health organizations implement and measure professional well-being efforts.
“Bernadette Melnyk’s work has advanced nursing science and improved the health of countless patients, families and clinicians,” said Laurie A. Badzek, dean of the Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing. “The Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing has benefited from her leadership and engagement for many years, from her work to advance evidence-based practice to the impact of her COPE program in our own college. Her contributions to the field are remarkable, and she is richly deserving of this recognition.”
From 2005 to 2011, Melnyk served as dean of the College of Nursing and Health Innovation at Arizona State University, where she launched the nation’s first Master of Healthcare Innovation and grew nurse practitioner-led interprofessional clinics. She later served as dean of the College of Nursing at The Ohio State University, where she became the first chief wellness officer at a U.S. university, launched the first Doctor of Nursing Education program and founded the first NP-led clinic in Columbus, Ohio, which later earned the designation of federally qualified health center.
Over her career, she has authored more than 620 publications, and, as a principal investigator, she has received over $36 million in sponsored funding from the National Institutes of Health, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and other funding bodies. She has served on national bodies including the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and the National Academy of Medicine’s Action Collaborative on Clinician Well-Being and Resilience.
Melnyk will be recognized at the AAN’s annual Health Policy Conference in Washington, D.C. this October.