HPNA Announces 2025 Fellows in Palliative Care Nursing
The designation of Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association (HPNA) Fellow in Palliative Care Nursing (FPCN) is bestowed upon HPNA members who have made significant contributions to HPNA, the Hospice and Palliative Credentialing Center (HPCC), and/or the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Foundation (HPNF), while also impacting the field of hospice and palliative nursing. HPNA fellows are leading the way for the future of hospice and palliative nursing as clinicians, researchers, managers, and advocates.
HPNA is pleased to announce the following 2025 FPCN inductees:
Kristin Akers, MSN, ACNP-BC, ACHPN®, FPCN®
Kristin is a palliative care nurse practitioner at the University of Utah, where she specializes in advanced goals-of-care conversations in the inpatient setting. In addition to her clinical role, Kristin is dedicated to education and serves as co-director of UACT (Utah Advanced Communication Training), an interprofessional health care communication course.
Meggan Mikal, DNP, APRN-FPA, PCNS-BC, CPNP-PC, CHPPN®, FPCN®
Meggan is the nurse practitioner of the Pediatric Advance Care Team (palliative and pain support) at Advocate Children’s Hospitals in Oak Lawn, Ill. She completed a fellowship in pediatric neurodevelopmental disabilities through the Illinois Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) program and a fellowship in pediatric palliative and hospice nursing through the University of Illinois and Coleman Foundation. Meggan became a board-certified pediatric hospice and palliative nurse in 2009 and is an End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium trainer through St. Jude’s Hospital in Memphis, TN. She serves on the diversity, equity, and inclusion board for the Courageous Parent Network and is a member of HPNA.
Komal Patel Murali, PhD, RN, ACNP-BC, FPCN®
Komal is an acute care nurse practitioner and assistant professor at New York University Rory Meyers College of Nursing, dedicated to advancing equitable palliative and hospice care for seriously ill patients with dementia and multiple chronic conditions. She is supported by the NIA IMPACT Collaboratory and a K23 Career Development Award (K23AG083125), through which she is exploring barriers to hospice care and developing and testing a co-designed culturally sensitive care management intervention to guide transitions to hospice in home health care. Another area of her research includes culturally sensitive caregiving support for South Asian older adults with chronic conditions and their families in faith-based settings, which is currently supported by pilot funding from the Rutgers-NYU Center for Asian Health Promotion and Equity (P50MD017356). Dr. Murali has been a dedicated member of HPNA since 2017 and currently serves as the chair of the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Committee.
Shila Pandey, DNP, AGPCNP-BC, ACHPN®, FPCN®
Shila Pandey is palliative care nurse practitioner on the Supportive Care Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. She is an adjunct faculty member in the graduate department of New York University Rory Meyers College of Nursing. Her practice and research interests include primary palliative care education, antimicrobial use at the end-of-life, and communication skills teaching.
These individuals will be recognized at the 2025 Annual Assembly of Hospice and Palliative Care in Denver, Colo.