Thousands of Nurse Practitioners Convene in Nashville for the 2014 AANP National Conference

NASHVILLE, Tenn., June 17, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) today kicks off its 2014 National Conference, the largest annual gathering of nurse practitioners (NPs) in the country. The event brings together approximately 5,300 NPs for more than 250 concurrent sessions focused on continuing education, skill enhancement and advocacy.

This year, Mary Wakefield, PhD, RN, Administrator of Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), will deliver the AANP keynote address, focusing on the nation's changing health care system and implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Special programming also features a call to action by Scharmaine Lawson-Baker, DNP, FNP-BC, FAANP, who opened the first nurse practitioner house call practice in the state of Louisiana. Dr. Lawson-Baker has appeared on the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric and will discuss barriers and opportunities she faced when launching her innovative private practice.

Additional guests include Teresa Gardner and Paula Meade, nurse practitioners who travel Appalachia delivering free primary care services via the Health Wagon, recently spotlighted on 60 Minutes, and Dave deBronkart or "e-Patient Dave," a highly regarded speaker on patient engagement and participatory medicine.

In addition, country music superstar Martina McBride will entertain AANP conference attendees at an exclusive event on the evening of Wednesday, June 18^th. Proceeds from the concert will go to support the mission of Musicians on Call, a national non-profit organization that brings live and recorded music to the bedsides of patients in health care facilities around the country. 

"We'd like to extend a warm welcome to all our attending nurse practitioners, clinicians who play a vital role preserving the health of individuals and communities throughout the country," said Angela Golden, DNP, FNP-C, FAANP and Ken Miller, PhD, RN, CFNP, FAAN.  Dr. Golden and Dr. Miller have served as co-presidents of AANP this past year. "It is our hope that participants will take full advantage of the range of opportunities stemming from this year's conference and enjoy our prime location in the heart of Music City."

AANP's 2014 National Conference takes place June 17-22, 2014 at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee. Additional details are available at http://www.aanp.org/conferences/national-conference.

The American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) is the largest professional membership organization for nurse practitioners (NPs) of all specialties. It represents the interests of over 189,000 NPs, including more than 50,000 individual members and 203 organizations, providing a unified networking platform and advocating for their role as providers of high-quality, cost-effective, comprehensive, patient-centered and personalized health care. The organization provides legislative leadership at the local, state and national levels, advancing health policy; promoting excellence in practice, education and research; and establishing standards that best serve NP patients and other health care consumers.

For more information visit aanp.org. To locate an NP in your community, go to npfinder.com. 

SOURCE American Association of Nurse Practitioners