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Jefferson Announces Nursing Joint Appointments

Jefferson is pleased to announce two important joint appointments. Jefferson Health Chief Nursing Executive Officer, Kate FitzPatrick, DNP, RN, ACNP, FAAN, NEA-BC, will serve as associate dean for Nursing Health Systems Partnerships and Innovation and professor at Thomas Jefferson University, and Jefferson College of Nursing Dean, Marie Ann Marino, EdD, RN, FAAN, has been appointed vice president for Nursing Academic Partnerships and Innovation at Jefferson Health.

These dual academic and clinical responsibilities for Drs. FitzPatrick and Marino reinforce Jefferson’s commitment to making the Jefferson College of Nursing and Jefferson Health destinations of choice for nurses at all entries of practice, from nursing students, new-to-practice nurses and advanced practice nurses, to nurse leaders and nurse scientists.

We believe that Nursing at Jefferson will advance integrated systems of health care, achieve improved outcomes for patients and foster new models of innovation and education to prepare nurses of the future by equipping them with next-generation knowledge and competencies. We can only achieve these goals through this model that spans the continuum of Nursing, from the academic environment to clinical and professional practice.

Emblematic of the integrated, future-focused approach we are taking to shape Jefferson Nursing, these joint appointments will ensure:

  • A shared purpose to advance the service, education and research missions of Jefferson Health and Thomas Jefferson University while building a common vision. 
  • Opportunities for curriculum reformation, workforce development, pipeline programs, expanded models of education, increased professional collaboration, improved resource utilization, enhanced research implementation, increased evidence-based practice, and professional development initiatives, among others. 
  • Shape nursing at Jefferson for generations to come by leveraging resources, talents and assets more effectively.

Working together, Drs. FitzPatrick and Marino can hardwire the infrastructure for a true academic-practice partnership by establishing meaningful, cross-institutional appointments and initiatives for leadership, faculty and clinicians who can collaborate on issues of mutual importance, like workforce development and diversification. A recent iteration of this collaboration came in the form of the Nurse2Nurse support program developed by the College of Nursing to offer Jefferson Health nurses the safe space to discuss their emotional fallout from COVID-19.

This partnership will bring together Jefferson’s academic and clinical assets and talents to inform the future of nursing education and the practical application of nursing in the healthcare setting. Their contributions to advance Jefferson’s exceptional nursing education and the quality, safety, patient- and family-centered care for which Jefferson is nationally recognized.