Ackerman Honored for Healthcare Innovation

ALISO VIEJO, Calif. – May 5, 2026 – The American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) will honor Michael Ackerman, PhD, RN, APRN-BC, FCCM, FNAP, FAANP, FAAN, with its AACN Pioneering Spirit Award.

One of AACN’s Visionary Leadership awards, the AACN Pioneering Spirit Award recognizes significant contributions that influence progressive and critical care nursing and relate to the association’s mission, vision and values. The official presentation will occur during the 2026 National Teaching Institute & Critical Care Exposition, in San Diego, May 17-20.

Ackerman is director of the Master in Healthcare Innovation Program and director of the Center for Healthcare Innovation and Leadership at The Ohio State University College of Nursing, where he serves as professor of clinical nursing. He also practices as an acute care nurse practitioner at St. Joseph’s Neighborhood Center in Rochester, New York, and owns Ackerman Consulting, a healthcare and leadership consulting company.

His commitment to innovation has driven significant disruptions in nursing education, clinical practice and health system change.

He recently served as the principal investigator for a $1.5 million research project funded through the American Nurses Foundation’s Reimagining Nursing Initiative. The innovative pilot focused on using extended reality, artificial intelligence and machine learning to disrupt nursing education to better prepare prelicensure nursing students to be practice-ready.

Ackerman is a skilled clinician, avid researcher, motivational speaker and caring leader. His career spans almost every role in clinical practice and academia.

He has contributed extensively through publications on sepsis, airway management, hemodynamics, innovation and leadership, and national and international presentations. A member of AACN since 1985, he has presented at NTI every year since 1992, and his popular sessions are often packed.

He is a graduate of Niagara University and the State University of New York at Buffalo, with post-graduate studies and fellowships at the University of Rochester and the Health Foundation of Western and Central New York.

About the AACN Pioneering Spirit Award: The annual AACN Pioneering Spirit Award recognizes significant contributions that influence progressive and critical care nursing regionally and nationally, and relate to AACN’s mission, vision and values. Recipients of this Visionary Leadership Award come from business, academia and healthcare. Other Visionary Leadership awards, AACN’s highest honor, include the Lifetime Membership Award and the Marguerite Rodgers Kinney Award for a Distinguished Career.

About the National Teaching Institute & Critical Care Exposition: Established in 1974, AACN’s National Teaching Institute & Critical Care Exposition (NTI) represents the world’s largest educational conference and trade show for nurses who care for acutely and critically ill patients and their families. Bedside nurses, nurse educators, nurse managers, clinical nurse specialists and nurse practitioners attend NTI.

About the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses: For more than 55 years, the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) has been dedicated to acute and critical care nursing excellence. The organization’s vision is to create a healthcare system driven by the needs of patients and their families in which acute and critical care nurses make their optimal contribution. AACN is the world’s largest specialty nursing organization, with more than 134,000 members and over 170 chapters in the United States.

American Association of Critical-Care Nurses
27071 Aliso Creek Road, Aliso Viejo, CA 92656; 949-362-2000; www.aacn.org