By Pareasa Rahimi
At the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing, we are advancing the future of Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner education through both the Master of Science in Nursing and Doctor of Nursing Practice specialty tracks. Both prepare nurses for advanced practice in a variety of acute and critical care settings where they will diagnose and manage complex health conditions of short and long duration, serving young adults, older adults and geriatric populations.
Consistently top-ranked
The DNP Adult-Gerontology Acute Care NP Specialty ranks No. 5 in the 2025 U.S. News & World Report “Best Graduate Schools” rankings and has remained among the top 10 for three consecutive years.
Recognized for innovative teaching strategies
AGACNP faculty are committed to advancing education through dynamic, engaging methods that enrich student learning and clinical readiness.
In 2024, Assistant Professor and Co-Coordinator of the AGACNP Specialty Track Hiboombe Haamankuli, DNP, CRNP, ACNP‐BC (MSN 2010); Assistant Professor and Co-Coordinator of the AGACNP Specialty Track Sabrina Kopf, DNP, CRNP, ACNP‐BC (BSN 2009, DNP 2017); and Assistant Professor Somali Nguyen, DNP, CRNP, AGACNP‐BC (BSN 2010, MSN 2014, DNP 2019), received the Excellence in Teaching Award from the Alabama League for Nursing for work to utilize gamification to teach critical skills such as antimicrobial selection, chest X-ray interpretation and point-of-care ultrasound. The goal was to improve engagement and knowledge retention among students, ensuring they are well-prepared to excel in clinical practice and deliver high-quality patient care, which was accomplished. On post-activity evaluations, 78 percent of students indicated that the experience improved their chest X-ray interpretation knowledge. Additionally, 94 percent of the learners stated to be somewhat confident in making correct diagnosis on a chest X-ray after the gamification learning experience.
This year, Haamankuli, Kopf, Nguyen, Assistant Professor Tracie White, DNP, CRNP, ACNP‐BC, CNOR, CRNFA, CHSE (MSN 2010, DNP 2017); Assistant Professor Jennifer Ledlow, PhD, RN, CCRN, CNL, CNE, CHSE (BSN 2014, MSN 2016, PhD 2024); and Instructor Rebekah Day, DNP, CRNP, AGACNP‐BC (MSN 2015, DNP 2024), received the same award for their project, “Interprofessional Collaboration in Telehealth: Enhancing Social Determinants of Health Recognition Through Simulation.” The project included a dynamic three-part program for Adult-Gerontology Nurse Practitioner students to build collaborative skills and clinical expertise. Through certification, live collaboration and realistic simulations, the program equips students to deliver holistic, well-coordinated patient care in their future practice.
Distinguished Faculty: Research, Recognition and Leadership
AGACNP faculty have been recognized for their contributions as educators, clinical experts and health policy advocates. They actively participate in state and national nursing organizations and have secured research funding to support their scholarly work.
Professor and Associate Dean for Clinical and Global Partnerships Michele Talley, PhD, CRNP, ACNP-BC, FAANP, FNAP, FAAN (MSN 2005, PhD 2015), is President-Elect of the Gerontological Advanced Practice Nurses Association. Her term began in September 2025. She also leads the Providing Access to Healthcare (PATH) Clinic, a nurse-managed clinic in partnership with UAB Medicine, providing interprofessional, team-based diabetes care to uninsured, medically underserved patients. In 2020, the clinic received the Creativity in Practice and Education Award from the National Academies of Practice. In 2025, the PATH Clinic received the Alabama State Nurses Association’s award for Outstanding Healthcare Organization. The UAB Nursing Partnership has also received recognition on a national level, receiving the 2018 American Association of Colleges of Nursing’s New Era for Academic Nursing Award, its highest academic/practice partnership award.
Haamankuli is a membership taskforce member for GAPNA and serves as Vice President for Membership of the Nurse Practitioner Alliance of Alabama. As a student in the School’s PhD Program, he is the recipient of a $2,000 Doctoral Scholarship grant from ALN to help support his project focusing on exploring the adverse outcomes associated with prostate cancer treatments and their impact on the quality of life among Black men. This includes examining challenges in reporting adverse outcomes to inform the development of a program of research to help understanding and addressing these challenges, ultimately enhancing treatment compliance, quality of life and survivorship. Haamankuli also received the Nancy Smith Memorial Award for Excellence in Teaching from the School in 2025.
Kopf is Program Planning Chair for the International Transplant Nurses Society and a recipient of the UAB School of Nursing Clinical Transformation Award. The award is being used to support a pilot project focused on the development and implementation of a Preceptor Academy designed to enhance preceptors’ understanding and application of competency-based education in the clinical setting. Through targeted training and resources, the goal of the academy is to strengthen preceptors’ knowledge and confidence in coaching Advanced Practice Registered Nurse students, providing feedback and evaluating clinical competency. The award also enables the team to continue building resources that further support preceptors in ongoing clinical training, competency-based education and professional development.
Nguyen is Chair of the Acute Care Special Interest Group for GAPNA. He served as President of the Birmingham at-large Chapter of the American Association for Men in Nursing from 2022-2025.
Assistant Professor Adam Kinsaul, DNP, CRNP, ACNP-BC, RNFA (MSN 2010, DNP 2022), is President of NPAA. At the national level, he serves as Vice Chair of the Research Committee for the American Association for Men in Nursing and was honored with a Daisy Award by the organization in October. He also serves on the Education Committee for the National Association of Orthopedic Nurses and is Chair-Elect of the School’s Faculty Practice Committee.
Assistant Professor and Director of the MSN and DNP Nurse Practitioner Pathways Rebecca Suttle, DNP, CRNP, AGACNP‐BC (BSN 2010, MSN 2014, DNP 2018), previously lead the AGACNP specialty track and is a member of the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties. She also is a recipient of the School’s Educational Transformation Award and a Veterans Affairs Quality Scholar Fellow through 2025.
White, who also previously led the specialty track, received the 2024 Frontline Simulation Champion Excellence Award from the International Nursing Association of Clinical Simulation and Learning along with others from the School’s Office of Technology and Innovation. She is the first faculty member of the School to be selected for the National League for Nursing Leadership Development for Simulation Educators program and serves as a Reviewer for Clinical Simulation in Nursing. Her research can be found in peer-reviewed publications, including The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, Perioperative Care and Operating Room Management and Clinical Simulation in Nursing. She also received the Nancy Smith Memorial Award for Excellence in Teaching from the School in 2025.
Students and alumni are making a difference
AGACNP students and alumni are playing key roles in the health and well-being of communities.
Adjunct Instructor and UAB Medicine Assistant Director of Advanced Practice Providers Eileen Meyer, DNP CRNP, ACNP-BC (MSN 1997, DNP 2017), was among one of the earliest cohorts of the AGACNP specialty track. Her work centers on advancing health policy and promoting the professional interests of nurse practitioners in Alabama. She is immediate Past President of NPAA and previously served as Vice President of Policy and Senior Policy Advisor of the organization. Meyer serves on the School’s Leadership and Health Policy Initiative Advisory Board and is involved in the Health Policy Initiative as a mentor. In 2021, she received the Alabama State Nurses Association Annual Health Policy Award, as well as the American Association of Nurse Practitioners Alabama Award of Excellence as Nurse Practitioner Advocate. She also was named one of Birmingham Business Journal's 2025 Women of Influence. Meyer has worked to expand the practice of nurse practitioners by working alongside Alabama Medicaid to expand inpatient billing codes and billable procedures, developed the Critical Care Advanced Protocol with the Alabama Board of Nursing/Alabama State Board of Medical Examiners and Medical Licensure Commission, sponsored Alabama Act 2018-474 (Signature Authority Bill) and is actively working to increase the physician to nurse practitioner ratio. She has played a key role in modernizing controlled substance prescribing regulations for collaborative practice. Additionally, she has led the development and refinement of procedural protocols for nurse practitioners, including small-joint injections, central venous access, Botox administration, fluoroscopy, tunneling, paracentesis and critical care advanced protocols. Meyer recently led the passage and implementation efforts for Alabama Act 2025-278 (HB194), restructuring the Joint Committee overseeing collaborative practice between physicians and advanced practice nurses. Through Meyer’s advocacy, state leaders are more informed about nurse practitioners and their scope of practice.
Julie Mauldin, BSN, RN (BSN 2023), is the Charge Nurse at the Changed Lives Mobile Clinic where she oversees volunteer staff and the organization of laboratory services. Mauldin also is a student in the School’s Master of Science in Nursing Program in the Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Specialty Track and a 2024-2025 Albert Schweitzer Fellow. She first stepped foot in the clinic as a BSN student and recently worked to organize the laboratory workflow as part of her fellowship.