Adult Nurse Practitioner (ANP)
Meet the Program Director
Leslie Welch Hopkins
MSN, APRN, FNP-BC
Professor Coleman is a board certified nurse practitioner who specializes in adult primary care and cardiovascular disease risk management and treatment. She joined the faculty at Vanderbilt in 1994 in a joint practice and academic role. Professor Coleman has practiced in a variety of settings ranging from a rural family practice to an urban, indigent care clinic. Currently, she practices with Summit Medical Associates (SMA), a group of fifteen internal medicine and family practice physicians in the Nashville area. She has been instrumental in helping to develop the Adult Nurse Practitioner program with the multiple areas of focus for students. Content for these focus areas is coordinated by faculty with specific expertise in the different options. Professor Coleman works closely with the faculty to provide students with a broad base of adult primary care knowledge. She coordinates clinical rotations for students in a wide variety of settings in Tennessee and around the country.
Modified Class Schedule for Nurses and Non-Nurses
Whether you have a nursing background or not, you will complete your ANP specialty program through a modified learning (block) format that includes: (1) courses offered in concentrated blocks of time on campus, including weekends, up to four times per semester, (2) on-line conferencing and (3) distributed course delivery methods which allow for continued faculty contact between sessions.
You may choose to attend weekly lectures on-campus or to access these lectures from a remote site through:
- Live video-streamed lectures broadcast over the Vanderbilt School of Nursing website at the specified class time,
- Archived video-streamed lectures available for one week after the live lecture, and/or
- CD recordings which are mailed to your home.
In addition, students are required to attend courses in concentrated blocks of time on campus, up to four times per semester over an extended weekend of approximately five days. Clinical practicum placement is arranged in your home area provided a suitable agency and preceptor are available. Sites and preceptors are subject to Vanderbilt faculty approval.
Students with a Background in Nursing
(ADN/Diploma RN, BSN, MSN)
The modified learning format provides flexibility for working nurses and others. Students need not relocate or give up their employment while completing their MSN at Vanderbilt.
Students without a Background in Nursing
Students who enter Vanderbilt School of Nursing without a nursing background are traditional students and are required
to attend live weekly lectures and complete clinical hours in Nashville during their pre-specialty year. In the following specialty year, the entire ANP program is delivered in a blocked format.
Focus Areas for Vanderbilt Adult Nurse
Practitioner Program
While all graduates of the Vanderbilt Adult Nurse Practitioner Program will be prepared as ANPs, each will also choose an area of focus. Learn more by visiting these sites and reviewing their curriculum plans.
- Cardiovascular Disease Prevention and Management– treating the leading cause of death in the United States, with emphasis on the management of diabetes, hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol and high triglycerides), hypertension (high blood pressure), obesity and metabolic syndrome.
- Forensic Nursing – addressing the bio-psychosocial needs of individuals, families, communities and society within the context of situations such as interpersonal violence, public health threats, man-made or natural causes of trauma and vulnerabilities created by specific circumstances.
- Older Adult (Gerontological/GNP) – a dual certification preparing the ANP also to meet the unique health care needs of the geriatric population.
- Palliative – seeking to reduce the symptoms and suffering of patients with life-limiting progressive illnesses.
Adult Nurse Practitioner Program Faculty
The ANP program faculty at Vanderbilt School of Nursing are supportive and committed to assuring an excellent educational experience. Our faculty combine their diverse experiences, educational backgrounds, resources and professional alliances to create a program that fosters intellectual growth and clinical acumen.
- Leslie Coleman, ANP Program Director, Director of Cardiovascular focus
- Travis Dunlap, ANP faculty
- Sarah Fogel, ANP faculty
- Jennifer Kim, Director of Geriatric focus
- Jim Pace, Director of Palliative Care focus
- Julie Rosof-Williams, Director of Forensic Nursing focus
Dual-Focus Program Expands Scope of Practice
Vanderbilt School of Nursing also offers a dual-focus Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner/Adult Nurse Practitioner program that expands the Scope of Practice for Adult Nurse Practitioners. ANPs who also want to meet the unique health care needs of women often choose this dual certification. In addition to adult primary care, it addresses a range of women’s health issues including normal pregnancy, prenatal management, well-woman health care and menopause.
