In honor of Nurse Practitioner Week 2021, we are featuring the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP)‘s tribute to four influential NP leaders as our Nurses of the Week! 
During these unprecedented times, NPs have served as vital leaders in their places of practice and communities. They treat their patients with compassion, provide person-centered care and continually expand their professional knowledge, often while advocating for the advancement of NPs. According to Nancy J. Sharp, MSN, RN, FAAN, for whom the AANP Sharp Cutting Edge Award was named, “If you want to make a strong impact, such as influencing policy or legislative changes, you must join an association. Numbers count. When more individuals join the group, the group has more power and strength.”
The strength of NPs goes beyond providing essential health care services for patients. NPs often hold a variety of leadership roles, responsibilities and titles, like those exemplified by past recipients of the AANP Sharp Cutting Edge Award and Towers Pinnacle Award.
Here are four standout nurse leaders who represent the excellence and impact of nurse practitioners:
Jennifer Wilbeck: Leading ENP Educator
NP leaders make their voices heard in their communities. Within these local, state, and national organizations, NP leaders harness the collective voices of their fellow practitioners to organize, enrich and advocate for NPs everywhere. One sterling example is emergency NP and educator Jennifer Wilbeck, DNP, ACNP-BC, FNP-BC, ENP-C, FAANP. Wilbeck is Professor of Nursing at Vanderbilt University, where her leadership of the nation’s first dual NP academic program for ENP preparation has become a model for ENP educational programs. In addition to being a driving force in standardizing ENP education, she maintains a clinical practice in local Nashville Emergency Departments and has amassed over 20 years of experience in emergency health care — including pre-hospital, emergency department, critical care access, and trauma care.
Dr. Wilbeck is also a literal setter of standards. She led the development of national practice standards and the national ENP specialty certification board exam and was the founding Board Chair for the first national specialty professional organization for ENP practice, the American Academy of Emergency Nurse Practitioners. Dr. Wilbeck has lectured nationally on various clinical, educational, and professional topics related to the role of ENPs and serves as the executive director of the American Academy of Emergency Nurse Practitioners (AAENP).
Dr. Wilbeck was inducted as an AANP Fellow in 2016.
Michelle Edwards and Frank Manole: NP Leaders Dedicated to Improving Access and Health Outcomes for Everyone
Beyond serving their own communities and their organizations, some NPs are blazing trails to make health care more affordable, dynamic, and available to patients in all communities.
One of those professionals is Michelle Edwards, DNP, FACHE, FAANP. Dr. Edwards works as the chief experience officer (CXO) for Providence Health Care Systems, where she leverages nearly 25 years of health care experience to promote compassionate, high-quality health care to vulnerable populations.
For over a decade, Dr. Edwards has become known as a powerful advocate for the creation of sustainable health care practices and financially responsible initiatives with powerful outcomes. Her commitment to clinical excellence, enthusiasm for innovation, inclination to challenge the status quo, and unique ability to build strong, collaborative, interdisciplinary partnerships has earned her a reputation as a leader in the industry. In October 2018, the American Organization of Nurse Executives selected her as a Leader to Watch, making Edwards the first advanced practice leader to be featured on the cover of the organization’s journal.
Similarly, at Avance Care, AANP Region 4 Director Frank Manole, DNP, MBA, FAANP, is working to change the landscape of health care as we know it. His goal as vice president of operations at Avance Care is to develop and execute strategies that improve access to quality, affordable care across the board. A seasoned health care leader, Dr. Manole remains focused on strategy. Dr. Manole previously oversaw clinical operations for more than 40 clinics while serving as the senior practice manager for CVS Health – MinuteClinic.
NP leaders like Drs. Edwards and Manole have helped develop new health care delivery models in some of the largest health systems in the country, often while aiding their local communities and fellow NPs. It is this leadership and commitment to quality that proves NPs are shaping the future of patient-centered health care as we know it.
Beth Haney: Bringing an NP Voice to the Table in Local Government to Effect Community-Wide Change
Beth Haney, DNP, FNP-C, FAANP, FAAN, has led the way in her city of Yorba Linda, California. As current city councilwoman and former mayor of Yorba Linda, Dr. Haney serves her community with the goal of promoting communication, health and safety and increasing awareness of homelessness. When not working on her responsibilities as a councilwoman, she takes care of her patients as the owner and founder of a private aesthetics and wellness practice.
Dr. Haney’s journey of leadership can be traced back to before her time as an elected official. While working as the assistant professor of nursing science at the Sue and Bill Gross School of Nursing at the University of California, Irvine (UCI), Dr. Haney developed the first and only UCI inter-professional aesthetic courses for health care professionals. In addition to this, Dr. Haney represented her fellow NPs by serving as the president of the California Association for Nurse Practitioners.
Since 2017, Dr. Haney has collected National NP Week proclamations from 19 of the 34 Orange County cities and the Orange County Board of Supervisors. If you’d like to follow in Dr. Haney’s footsteps this National NP Week, then review this year’s proclamation and encourage your local elected officials to sign in support of NPs in your area.
Every day, NPs stand together and advocate for their patients and their colleagues. AANP is proud to be The Voice of the Nurse Practitioner® and stand up for the right of patients to have full and direct access to the health care provider of their choice. By advocating for Full Practice Authority at the state level and important federal issues, NPs across the country have established themselves as role models for their fellow health care professionals and are leading positive changes in their own communities.
Learn More About These Outstanding NP Leaders
Do you want to learn more about NP leaders like Drs. Wilbeck, Edwards, Manole and Haney? Listen to the latest episodes of NP Voice: The Voice of the Nurse Practitioner® to hear these and other NPs’ stories firsthand and find out what it takes to be a leader in your community.
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