Supreme Achievement

Susan Matt of the College of Nursing was admitted as an attorney to the U.S. Supreme Court on March 3. The assistant professor and chair of Adult Health Nursing was sworn in along with five other members of the American Association of Nurse Attorneys during an en banc session of the Court.

"It's a great honor to be in the courtroom in front of the nine justices to hear your name called and be sworn in," she said. Admission also requires two sponsors who are members of the Court.

"The justices only hear about 80 cases a year, and most of the lawyers who argue them are specialists who only do appeals work in that particular court. Being a member of the Court gives me access to a special section inside the court to hear arguments," said Matt. 

Matt received both her JD and PhD in nursing from the University of Washington. A member of SU's faculty since 2008, Matt's areas of expertise include workers with disabilities (particularly nurses with disabilities); the disability climate in the workplace; occupational health; bullying in nursing education; ethics in education and healthcare and legal issues in nursing practice.

She has practiced law in a variety of health care, disability, estate and family law cases and has educated health care professionals regarding legal issues in health care.