Two Inducted into American Academy of Nurse Practitioners
This year, two of the 44 fellows newly inducted into the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) hail from the University of Rochester School of Nursing. Jill Quinn, Ph.D., R.N., assistant professor, and Jane Tuttle, Ph.D., F.N.P.-B.C., professor of clinical nursing and pediatrics, were honored during the organization’s national conference in June. The AANP fellows program recognizes nurse practitioner leaders who have made outstanding contributions to health care through clinical practice, research, education or policy.
Quinn, who earned both her master’s and doctoral degrees at the University of Rochester, began caring for cardiac patients and their families in 1979. She was one of the first nurse practitioners working in acute care as a member of the cardiothoracic team at Strong Memorial Hospital at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC). Since then, she has worked with interventional cardiology, clinical cardiology and, most recently, with heart failure provider services at Strong.
In 2008, Quinn received a four-year American Heart Association (AHA) National Scientist Development Grant to research how four factors – symptom perception, depression, quality-of-life perception and the influence of family caregivers – impact heart failure patients’ ability to identify symptoms and decide to seek medical care. Quinn’s goal is helping patients and family caregivers recognize worsening symptoms before they require hospitalization.
As an assistant professor at the School of Nursing, Quinn teaches graduate students in the master’s and doctoral programs, preparing them for success in the field of cardiovascular care and research. A member of the AHA and Cardiovascular Nursing Council since 1982, she was elected an AHA fellow in 2007. She is an active member of the local AHA chapter’s Health Site Education Committee, which organizes and presents educational programs for health care professionals and the community. These programs address preventive care and illness management issues related to heart disease. In May, Quinn received the AHA Woman of Distinction Award in the category of Education, Nonprofit and Community/Civic Service. She resides in Brighton.
Tuttle, specialty director of the School’s Family Nurse Practitioner program since 1999, began her career in pediatrics at Strong Memorial Hospital in 1974. Over the next 10 years, her work took on a community focus as she worked as a pediatric nurse practitioner for the Rochester City School District and the Monroe County Department of Health. In 1985, she joined the Yale University School of Nursing as an instructor. She returned to western New York in 1993 joining the University of Rochester School of Nursing faculty and pursuing her clinical interests at Strong as an advanced practice pediatric nurse with a special interest in adolescent health.
Over the years, Tuttle’s research has looked at interventions designed to prevent substance abuse and risky behaviors, especially among at-risk children and teens. She has been the nursing coordinator for the Leadership Education in Adolescent Health program in the Department of Pediatrics at URMC since 1998. This interdisciplinary program is designed to integrate trainees in pediatrics/medicine, nursing, nutrition, psychology and social work into a team providing adolescent health services within the University and in the community. She is also the nursing coordinator for the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities program at URMC, which is dedicated to improving the care of children and youth with neurodevelopmental disabilities and special health care needs.
Tuttle has received many honors throughout her career including the Distinguished Alumnae Award from the University of Rochester, the Nursing Educator Award from the Genesee Valley Nurses Association, and the Nurse Practitioner of the Year Award from the Nurse Practitioner Association of New York State. She has held leadership positions within several professional groups; she was president of the regional nurse practitioner organization and the University of Rochester chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International, the nursing honor society. She is chairperson of the education committee for the Nurse Practitioner Association of New York State. Tuttle resides in Rochester.