Carol Patton, DrPH, FNP-BC, CRNP, CNE

Dr. Carol M. Patton is the director of nursing research at St. Peter’s Hospital in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and an associate clinical professor at Drexel University. She also has clinical appointments with Mt. Morris Primary Care Center (a rural primary care clinic) and Palliative Care and Parish Nurse Faith Ministry. She has also held teaching and leadership positions at Chatham University, the University of Pittsburgh, Duquesne University, and Waynesburg College. Previous clinical appointments include working in primary care clinic and emergency room settings.

She has been the principal investigator on grants from the Pennsylvania Higher Education Foundation, American Public Health Association, and the American Academy of Nurse Practitioner Foundation. She has contributed to numerous books on topics ranging including infection control, continuous improvement, and review questions. She has been published in peer-reviewed journals such as the American Journal of Nursing, the Journal of Nursing Education, The American Journal for Nurse Practitioners, Hispanic Health Care International, and the Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners. She is also a frequent presenter at national and international conferences.

Her leadership in the profession includes serving as ANCC Content Panel chairperson, vice president of Sigma Theta Tau’s Sigma Nu Chapter, chair of the Pennsylvania State Nurses Association Continuing Education Committee, chair of the American Nurses Credentialing Center Content Expert Panel for the Family Nurse Practitioner Certification Examination, and an item writer for the American Association of Nursing Practitioners National Family Nurse Practitioner Examination.

A lifelong learner, she completed her BSN at Penn State and her MSN and Family Nurse Practitioner designation at West Virginia University. She earned a Doctor of Public Health degree at the University of Pittsburg. In 2012 she earned a post-master’s degree in healthcare informatics, and is working toward a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree.