As a reviewer, she contributed to the groundbreaking IOM report, "The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health," and served on the Minority Health Federal Advisory Committee. Dr. Malone has been awarded more than 20 honorary doctorates. Presently, Dr. Malone serves as vice chair at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) Board of Directors, co-leads the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) Health Professional Education and Communication Working Group, and serves on NAM’s Steering Committee. She is also a member of ecoAmerica’s Leadership Circle Executive Committee.

The American Nurses Association (ANA) named Dr. Malone as their 2024 Hall of Fame Award recipient. The American Academy of Nursing honored Dr. Malone with their 2024 Mary Elizabeth Carnegie Leadership in Equity, Diversity, and Inclusivity (EDI) Award. The National Black Nurses Association recognized Dr. Malone as a 2024 inaugural Fellow in the Academy of Diversity Leaders in Nursing (FADLN). In a remarkable recognition of her contributions to global health care, Dr. Malone was profiled by The Lancet (2024), one of the most prestigious and influential medical journals in the world. This honor underscores the significance of her work and places her among an elite group of leaders shaping the future of health care.

The year prior, Modern Healthcare, a leading publication in the health care field, honored Dr. Malone as one of the nation’s leading health care executives by naming her to the 2023 list of the Top 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives in Healthcare. The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) presented Dr. Malone with the prestigious 2023 HRH Princess Muna Al Hussein Award for her commitment to advancing the nursing profession and excellence in nursing professional practice across international borders, and Dr. Malone was listed in Modern Healthcare’s 100 Most Influential People in Health Care for the fourth consecutive year (2020, 2021, 2022, 2023). That same year, she was honored by the American Nurses Association with the prestigious President's Award and was selected for the M. Louise Fitzpatrick Award for Transformative Leadership by Villanova University. Dr. Malone was also featured as one of 25 Outstanding Women during Women’s History Month by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education.

Modern Healthcare also has honored her with a Top 25 Women Leaders' Luminary Award in 2021 and named her to the inaugural list of five Minority Healthcare Luminaries. She was previously honored on their list of Top 25 Women in Healthcare. The International Society of Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurses (ISPN) honored her with the Living Legend Award.

In 2020, Dr. Malone was given the University of Cincinnati’s Linda Bates Parker Legend Award, named an Honorary Member of the Philippine Nurses Association of America, and presented with an Award of Distinction by the NLN Board of Governors. Also, she was bestowed the Gail L. Warden Leadership Excellence Award by the National Center for Healthcare Leadership and conferred by the American Academy of Nursing with their Highest Nursing Honor, “Living Legend.”

The Alpha Omega Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau and the College of Nursing of Adelphi University, Long Island, honored Dr. Malone with the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019. She was presented with a citation from the American Psychological Association for her outstanding leadership in advancing excellence in health care for the nation and global community, was named one of the Top 25 Minority Executives in Healthcare by Modern Healthcare, and accepted the Nursing Outlook Excellence in Research Award in 2018.

Dr. Malone was elected to two terms as president of the American Nurses Association (ANA) representing 180,000 nurses and served as the first African American general secretary of the United Kingdom (UK) Royal College of Nursing (RCN) representing 400,000 nurses. A member of the UK as well as US delegation to the World Health Assembly, she was also vice chair of the Brussels-based European Federation of Nurses Association. Furthermore, she has the distinguished honor of her portrait being displayed at the National Portrait Gallery in London.