Dr. April N. Kapu
DNP, APRN, ACNP-BC, FAANP, FCCM, FAAN
President, American Association of Nurse Practitioners
Season 05 - Episode 01
Dr. April N. Kapu
DNP, APRN, ACNP-BC, FAANP, FCCM, FAAN
Dr. April Kapu is an acute care nurse practitioner and recently appointed as Associate Dean for Clinical and Community Partnerships, Vanderbilt University School of Nursing. Prior to her role as dean, she served as associate chief nursing officer for advanced practice nursing, Vanderbilt University Medical Center. There she led as nursing executive for the health system, leading a nationally recognized advanced practice program, establishing innovative, high quality, and value driven advanced practice healthcare services. Dr. Kapu is a Professor of Nursing and educator in Vanderbilt’s DNP program. She has led several grant funded research projects, has presented often for national and international conferences, has authored chapters in advanced practice nursing textbooks, and has published manuscripts in numerous peer reviewed medical and nursing journals. She holds several professional roles including: Fellow for the Society of Critical Care Medicine, Fellow for the American Association of Nurse Practitioners and Fellow for the American Academy of Nursing. Prior to being elected as president for AANP, Dr. Kapu served as Tennessee State Representative and later as Region 4 Director for the AANP Board of Directors. She is an active member of the Tennessee Nurses Association, served as past chair for the TN Government Affairs Committee and TN APRN Committee, and she represented TN NPs on the TN Governor’s special commission focused on pain and addiction treatment education. She has chaired or has served as a member of several interprofessional healthcare boards and committees. Dr. Kapu has received numerous awards including: VUMC “Transformational Nurse Leader of the Year” and Tennessee Hospital Association’s “Nurse of Clinical Distinction”. Dr. Kapu holds both a master’s and doctoral degree in nursing from Vanderbilt University School of Nursing.
