PhD or DNP: Tools to Guide Your Path to a Successful Application

Webinar Overview

Using toolkits developed for the New Careers in Nursing Doctoral Advancement in Nursing (DAN) program, prospective applicants and their mentors will explore winning approaches to successfully applying to a doctoral nursing program. Past mentoring teams who used the online DAN resources describe the keys to a productive mentoring partnership and how to navigate application to a PhD or DNP program. During this Webinar, the mentoring team members will describe the paths they took, the resources they found most useful in the toolkits, and provide their insights on finding a mentor or mentee.

This Webinar is hosted by the Graduate Nursing Student Academy (GNSA). For more information on the GNSA, visit www.aacn.nche.edu/students/gnsa.

Webinar Speakers

Ann Marie P. Mauro, PhD, RN
Assistant Dean and Professor
Director, Center for Educational Research and Innovation
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Dr. Mauro is assistant dean, professor, and director for the Center for Educational Research and Innovation at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, School of Nursing. In this role, she provides leadership for the promotion of teaching and learning excellence, collaborations in interprofessional education, and advancement of the science of nursing education. Dr. Mauro is a member of the National League for Nursing Board of Governors, and has been involved with the Robert Wood Johnson New Careers in Nursing program since 2011. She is a certified nurse educator and clinical nurse leader with expertise in diversity, educational policy, innovative educational strategies, and curriculum development. Dr. Mauro is also adjunct faculty at NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing, and fellow in the Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing. Dr. Mauro earned her BSN and MSN from Seton Hall University, and PhD from New York University.

Carli Zegers, BSN, RN
BS to PhD Student
University of Nebraska Medical Center

Carli Zegers is a currently and RN in the emergency department at Nebraska Medicine in Omaha, Nebraska. She recently graduated from the accelerated nursing program at Creighton University in Omaha, after completing a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science. She is concurrently working to obtain both her PhD and FNP at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Ms. Zegers has participated in many leadership activities, including the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation New Careers in Nursing scholar and Leadership program and the Markoe Leadership program, which have developed her leadership skills and focused her attention on helping others through commitment to the community and striving to advance her knowledge. She is currently the chair of the NCIN Scholar Alumni Network. She has also promoted diversity in nursing by founding and chairing the Nebraska Chapter of the National Association of Hispanic Nurses.

Joachim Voss, PhD, RN
Adjunct Associate Professor, Global Health
Affiliate Professor, Biobehavioral Nursing and Health Systems
University of Washington

Dr. Voss is an Associate Professor in the Biobehavioral Nursing and Health Systems Department in the University of Washington, School of Nursing since 2006. His BSN and MS equivalent degrees are from the County Hospital in Moeckmuehl, Germany and the University of Bremen, Germany. Dr. Voss was a Fulbright Fellow in 1998/99. He completed his PhD at the University of California in San Francisco. His research portfolio is focused on HIV-related symptom management of fatigue and the identification of biomarkers for fatigue since 2000. He pioneered the development of the first mitochondrial oligonucleotide gene expression microarray during his time as research fellow at the NIH. Dr. Voss has been funded as a principal investigator since 2003 from the NIH, the University of Washington and recently by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. He has published 10 research articles and 4 book chapters on HIV-related topics. His work received in 2005 the US Public Health Minnigerode Award for Nursing Excellence and the US Public Health Service Fay G. Abdella Publication Award for Nursing Research. Dr. Voss serves on the national research committee of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care (ANAC) and the Oncology Nursing Society. He recently joined the editorial board of the Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care.

Blake Smith, BSN, RN
MSN Student
University of Alabama at Birmingham

Mr. Smith is a past Chair of the Unit-based Council and currently is Chair-elect Practice Council at Nebraska Methodist Health System in Omaha, NE. He is also a member of the Nebraska Action Coalition’s Diversity Task Force and Leadership Committee for Nursing and served as the first chair of the New Careers in Nursing (NCIN) National Scholar Network Steering Committee. He now is currently serving as the Communications/Marketing Officer of the NCIN Scholars Network. Mr. Smith earned a degree in Exercise Science Research from Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln, NE in 2008 and a BSN from Nebraska Methodist College in Omaha, NE in 2012. Since graduation, he has presented across the country on the importance of diversity in the nursing workforce as well as developing the first chapter of the American Assembly of Men in Nursing (AAMN) in the state of Nebraska. He is currently enrolled in the Nursing Health Systems Management and Administration MSN track at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and plans to earn a DNP focusing on Nursing Administration and Finance.