Dr. April N. KapuDNP, APRN, ACNP-BC, FAANP, FCCM, FAAN is Senior Associate Dean for Strategic Partnerships and Global Affairs at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing in Nashville, Tennessee. A healthcare executive with more than 30 years of experience, including 20 years as a critical care nurse practitioner, she previously served as Associate Chief Nursing Officer for Advanced Practice at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where she built advanced practice infrastructure and scaled innovative models of care across the health system. Her work focuses on optimizing outcomes, quality, access, and value through advanced practice, and she is widely consulted for her expertise in advanced practice leadership and outcomes evaluation. She has presented nationally and internationally, authored textbook chapters, and published extensively in peerreviewed medical and nursing journals. Dr. Kapu is Past President and Fellow of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (FAANP), a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN), and a Fellow of the Society of Critical Care Medicine (FCCM).
Her contributions have been recognized with Vanderbilt's Transformational Nurse Leader of the Year, the Tennessee Hospital Association's Nurse of Clinical Distinction, and inclusion in Modern Healthcare's 2022 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives. She earned her master's and doctoral degrees in nursing from Vanderbilt University School of Nursing. As editor of this volume, she brings deep experience in advanced practice leadership, policy, and global collaboration to advancing evidence on outcomes for advanced practice. Ruth M. Kleinpell, PhD, ACNP-BC, FAAN, FAANP, FCCM,is currently Vice Dean, the Independence Foundation Professor of Nursing Education, and a professor at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing in Nashville, Tennessee. She received her diploma in nursing from Lutheran Medical Center School of Nursing, Cleveland, Ohio, and her baccalaureate, master's, and doctoral degrees in nursing from the University of Illinois College of Nursing, Chicago, Illinois. She received her acute care nurse practitioner certification at Rush University College of Nursing. Dr.
Kleinpell is known for her work on outcome research and has presented and published in the areas of assessing outcomes of advanced practice nursing, outcome research, and other areas of nursing practice. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, the National Academies of Practice, the Institute of Medicine of Chicago, and the American College of Critical Care Medicine. Her research and contributions have been recognized with a Sigma Theta Tau International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame Award, an American Association of Critical-Care Nurses Flame of Excellence Award, a National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties Research Award, and a Society of Critical Care Medicine Norma Shoemaker Award for Critical Care Nursing Excellence, among others.