The Advanced Practice (AP) Council provides clinical leadership and practice guidance through education, collaboration, and peer support. The council promotes opportunities to enhance professional growth and development through every stage of practice, from novice to expert.
The AP Council provides the foundation for APPs to identify, develop, and implement opportunities to leverage their knowledge, experience, and expertise as clinical leaders to support and nurture the ongoing development of their peers and direct care nurses. The AP Council is open to all advanced practice roles.
Leadership:
Ashley Weinmann, DNP, APN, Chair
Sandrine Martin, PA, Co-Chair
Committees:
APP Engagement
•Organizing team-building activities, events, and initiatives.
• Enhance awareness outside of Cooper.
• Inclusion of all APP members in the Cooper community.
• Provide recognition to our APPs.
• Create a strong peer support system for our APP
Co-Chairs: Laura McMaster, APN, and Angie Treacy, APN
Subcommittees
Volunteerism/Community Outreach
• Create and organize a program of community, outreach,
health and safety, volunteering events that strengthens
an active and open community spirit with activities, such
as, but not limited to the following: conducting training
and activities, support, improved health and safety issues
for the community.
• Organizing educational programs that may include
speakers on topics of interest, Collecting various items
for local charitable organizations.
Co-Leads: Katerina Dons, PA, and Evelyn Robles-Rodriguez, APN
Diversity and Inclusion
Promoting diversity and inclusion amongst APPs for
Cooper Hospital and the surrounding community.
• Relating diversity and inclusion to Cooper’s mission,
values, and objectives.
•Outlining key diversity and inclusion goals for APPs and
actionable steps to achieve them.
• Helping institutionalize policies that support equity
for all APPs.
• Evaluating the effectiveness of ongoing efforts and
adapting as needed.
Co-Leads: Charles Elsea, APN, and Shainna McKenzie, APN
Rewards and Recognition
Co-Leads: Dana Rosario, APN, and Hilda Tucubal, PAC
Social Events
• Aims to foster a vibrant and inclusive community among
Cooper APPs, promoting professional networking,
camaraderie, and a supportive environment through
engaging and well-planned social events aimed to
target all APPs.
Co-Leads: Andrea Branco, CRNA, and Caroline Pyle, APN
Peer Connection
• Build a connection with peers that supports growth,
learning and engagement among APPs, as they develop
roles within our healthcare system. These connections
create an environment of respect and reciprocity, in a
non-biased and mutually beneficial way, through events/
activities/and discussions planned throughout the year.
Co-Leads: Colleen Agostini, CRNA, and Kristina Goetz, APN
APP Professional Development
• Empower and educate all APPs by providing them with
available resources in research and education through
various platforms in order for them to practice at top of
license to serve, heal and educate.
Co-Chairs: Janice Delgiorno, APN, and Mary Elizabeth Gaskill, APN
Subcommittees
Research
• Empower our APPs through education and resource
support to increase engagement in research and
publication opportunities.
Co-Leads: Sharon Byrne, APN, and Evelyn Robles-Rodriguez, APN
APP Education
• Provide educational opportunities for best practice and
clinical updates.
Lead: Pat Mazza, APN
APP Doctorate Prepared Professionals
• Focuses beyond direct patient care: quality improvement,
research, leadership, administrative, advanced
competencies, and opportunities for professional roles.
Co-Leads: Kim Twaddell, APN and Ashley Weinmann, APN
APP Symposium
•Designed to educate APPs and other healthcare team
members on timely topics relevant to clinical practice.
A place for professional networking, scholarly
presentations, and resource management.
Co-Chairs: Sarah Cunningham, APN, and Janice Delgiorno, APN
Orientation and Transition
• Build upon the APPs education (if applicable, their
experience) to facilitate their ability to provide exceptional
evidence-based quality care to all Cooper patients. This
will be accomplished by ensuring all APPs are well-trained, knowledgeable of the organization, comfortable in their role and scope of practice, and provided with the
resources/support needed to succeed.
Co-Chairs: Melissa Iannacone, APN, and Joe Lever, APN
Subcommittees
Onboarding
• Create a standard process for onboarding and orientation
for new hire APPs
Co-Leads: Lucy Flood, APN, and Carolyn Keresztury, APN
Graduate APN Program
• Create a standardized process for transitioning master’s
prepared graduate nurses into existing advanced practice
nursing positions.
Lead: Staci Oertle, APN
APP Fellowship
• To design and implement a comprehensive onboarding/
orientation program, through the format of a fellowship,
for new-to-practice APPs that facilitates professional
growth, advanced clinical development, and collaborative
learning experiences to ensure standardized exceptional
clinical practice and professionalism from new-to-practice
APPs joining Cooper.
Co-Leads: Katarzyna Andruchow, APN, and Carolyn Keresztury, APN
APP Preceptorship
• Identify the roles and responsibilities of APP preceptors to
support student learning. Develop resources to support
novice to expert APP preceptors.
Co-Leads: Mary Francis, APN, and Lara Roseman, APN
APP Mentor
• Aims to establish and enhance an effective mentorship
program for novice Advanced Practice Providers (APPs)
with 0-3 years of experience, focusing on membership
verification, communication enhancement, research,
mentor recruitment and training, event planning, and
achieving specific objectives within quarterly timelines.
Co-Leads: Dana Gentile, APN, and Michelle Henritzy, APN