Colleen A. Leners, DNP, APRN, FAAN, FAANP
1stCallHEALTH

What advice would you give your younger self?
Be patient with yourself.... be bold go forward without any trepidation!

Where is your favorite vacation spot?
Italy and Greece

What made you want to pursue a career in nursing?
My mother was a nurse and role model, I love working with people.

What book should every nurse read?
Florence Nightingale's Notes on Nursing

What has been your most interesting/surprising outcome while conducting nursing research?
The honesty of the answers given on the surveys is refreshing.

What is a fun fact many people may not know about you?
I used to run Marathons.

About Colleen

Dr. Colleen Leners has maintained an active family nurse practitioner (FNP) practice for more 26 years and is currently the Chief Health Officer (CHO) at 1stCallHEALTH providing veterans’ health care and telehealth primary care to the DMV region. She was formerly the Director of Policy for the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), where she led advocacy efforts related to nursing education, research and practice. Leners was selected as a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Fellow in the office of Senator John Thune (R-SD) of the Senate Finance Committee, and she previously served in the United States Army Nurse Corps.

Leners is on the board of Friends of the National Institute of Nursing Research (FNINR), Case Western Reserve Alumni Board and the American Academy of Nursing Nominations Committee. Leners has many notable achievements, both civilian and military, and is a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing and AANP. She was awarded the Bronze Star for her service overseas. She received her Doctor of Nursing Practice in Leadership from Case Western Reserve University, a Master of Science in Nursing FNP from the University of San Diego and her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from California State University Dominguez Hills.