Paula Levett

Paula Levett, MS, RN, CCRN-K, serves a three-year term as a director on the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) board of directors from July 1, 2020, through June 30, 2023. She also serves a concurrent one-year term on the AACN Certification Corporation board from July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023. She completed a one-year term as secretary from July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2022.

Levett is a nursing practice leader in the pediatric intensive care unit at University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital in Iowa City. She designs and administers educational programs, assists with the professional development of staff nurses, facilitates clinical improvements and brings evidence-based practice to the bedside. She also led the unit’s Beacon Award submission, which resulted in gold-level designation in 2020.

An AACN ambassador since 2016, Levett served on the ICU Design Citation Review Panel (2019) and the CCRN Virtual Exam Development Committee (2017, 2016). She was a member of the NTI Program Planning Committee in 2018, serving as chair in 2019. She has also been actively involved in preparing nurses to take the Pediatric CCRN exam, using a variety of formats, including live and online review courses, and mentoring.

Additional affiliations include the Society of Critical Care Medicine, Iowa Organization of Nurse Leaders, Society of Pediatric Cardiovascular Nurses, Sigma and the American Heart Association.

During her career, she has given multiple presentations on a variety of clinical topics, most notably traumatic brain injury in children. Her publications include a chapter on the neurologic system in “AACN Core Curriculum for Pediatric High Acuity, Progressive, and Critical Care Nursing,” 3rd ed. In 2020, she was named one of the 100 Great Iowa Nurses.

Levett earned a Master of Science in pediatric nursing (functional tract education) at University of Illinois, Chicago, and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from St. Mary’s College, Indiana.