Cao Yingjuan, deputy dean of the School of Nursing and Rehabilitation at Shandong University, or SDU was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, or FAAN, according to a list announced by the US body on Aug 4.

The honor is understood to be in recognition of Cao's key contributions to nursing management, chronic disease management and evidence-based knowledge transfer.

The American Academy of Nursing was established in 1973 to promote the quality development of global health from an innovative and scientific perspective, by improving leadership in the nursing profession.

There are now more than 2,800 fellows of the body worldwide.

Cao is currently director of the department of nursing in Qilu Hospital in SDU, deputy dean of the School of Nursing and Rehabilitation of Shandong University and the director of the Center for Innovative Research on Nursing Theory and Practice at Shandong University. She is also a tutor of postgraduate students and professor of international cooperation liaison at Shandong University.

On Feb 7, 2020, Cao – as deputy leader of the medical team and leader of the nursing team – led the fifth medical team from Shandong province to take over two critical COVID-19 areas in Wuhan city, in Central China's Hubei province.

Her medical team was the one from Shandong that stayed in Wuhan the longest time, also treating the most severe and critical patients – some 164 COVID-19 patients – and was the last to leave.