At UW Medical Center, Advanced Practice Registered Nurses play an important role in fulfilling our mission to improve the health of the public. APRNs have a critical role in care delivery across the enterprise, from providing direct patient care and improving health outcomes for our patients and families to collaborating on teaching and research projects throughout the organization. Seen as a critical element in the professional development pathways for our nurses, advanced practice nursing leadership encourages the development of our nurse practice in a variety of ways.
Advanced practice nurses serve in many leadership roles. Laurie Soine, ARNP, PhD, is the Director of Advance Practice Nursing at UW Medical Center as well as the Chief ARNP. Laurie is a valued member of the leadership team and sits on nursing and medical leadership committees that guide everything from practice development to financial management. Laurie collaborates with Leah Yoke, PA-C, who serves in the role of Chief Physician Assistant. Together Laurie and Leah work across the organization creating professional structures to support the 700+ Advanced Practice Providers (APPs) practicing across UWMC. Laurie and Leah likewise represent APPs at the Medical Leadership Committee and the Medical Staff Advisory Council. They also serve as advisors to the Advanced Practice Professionals Council.
During the pandemic, the contribution of our advance practice nurses was pivotal to the successful response of the clinic. Advance practices nurses accomplishments during this historically unprecedented time include:
Over the past year our 15 Clinical Nurse Specialists took on far-reaching leadership roles and demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to UWMC and the broader community in response to the Covid pandemic, setting up and staffing the vaccine clinics and supporting colleagues through incredibly challenging times.