Driven to Lead: Three DNP students are shaping the future of advanced practice nursing

At the College of Nursing, Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) students are addressing some of healthcare’s most urgent challenges, expanding access to mental health care, strengthening patient safety, and improving specialty services in rural communities. United by a shared commitment to health access and equity, three DNP students demonstrate how advanced nursing education prepares clinicians to lead meaningful change.

“Our DNP students are preparing to lead at the highest levels of clinical practice,” said Brian Ahn, PhD, dean of the College of Nursing. “Through advanced education grounded in evidence, equity, and compassion, they are developing solutions that strengthen healthcare systems throughout Arizona and beyond.”

Expanding mental health access through innovation and compassion

For Alyssa M. Burton and Dena Pantier, both students in the Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) program, the decision to pursue a DNP was shaped by personal experience and a deep sense of responsibility for patients who too often struggle to access care.

Burton, a Navy nurse and single mother, has witnessed firsthand the profound impact of mental health on readiness, performance, and quality of life. Her military nursing experiences inspired her to pursue advanced training to deliver evidence-based psychiatric care and to advocate for individuals.

She is particularly passionate about reducing disparities in mental health services through innovation. Burton’s PMHNP DNP project examines how telepsychiatry can expand access to mental health services among minority and underserved populations.

“The program’s rigorous coursework has pushed me beyond what I thought possible,” Burton shared. “It has strengthened my clinical knowledge and confidence and shown me how much I’m capable of achieving.”

 “Alyssa’s exceptional professionalism, calm poise, and dedicated work ethic reflect a PMHNP student well prepared for the demands of clinical practice and for a future of impactful patient care,” said Sara Edmund, DNP, FNP, PMHNP-BC, PMHNP specialty coordinator.

Pantier’s path to psychiatric nursing began early in her career, when she recognized the demand for psychiatric providers. Her first job as a behavioral health technician during nursing school solidified her passion for holistic mental health care and for engaging with patients beyond medication administration.

Her commitment to mental health advocacy is deeply personal. After losing her younger brother to untreated mental health challenges, Pantier became determined to pursue a role that supports individuals and families navigating crises.

Her DNP project focuses on a system-level quality improvement initiative to improve medication reconciliation accuracy, ensuring patients’ medication lists are complete, up to date, and correctly matched to new orders. With medication errors rising significantly in recent years, her work addresses a growing source of patient harm across healthcare settings through structured nurse education and workflow redesign.

While the project addresses a critical patient safety issue, Pantier emphasized that the support she received was essential to its development. “The support from faculty and the connection with my cohort have been incredibly meaningful,” Pantier said. “The campus clinical immersion session I attended in January was an invaluable opportunity to finally meet my cohort in person.”

“Dena’s work demonstrates an approach that extends beyond problem identification to improving care delivery,” said Edmund. “The project highlights the role of thoughtful nursing leadership in reducing patient risk.”

Building acute care leadership

In Northern Arizona, Stacey N. Healy brings more than a decade of critical care nursing experience to the Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AGACNP) program. After working in multiple intensive care units across the region, Healy was drawn to advanced practice after witnessing the barriers patients in her community faced when seeking specialty care in pulmonology, urology, and neurology.

Motivated by a desire to expand access to high-quality care for rural communities and Indigenous populations, Healy pursued the DNP to deepen her clinical expertise and leadership impact. She currently serves as a clinical manager in critical care and dialysis at Northern Arizona Healthcare.

Healy credits the DNP program with enhancing her ability to apply evidence-based frameworks in real time and to lead complex initiatives within her organization. Her DNP project focuses on developing and sustaining an acute plasmapheresis program, an emergency procedure that removes harmful components from a patient’s blood plasma, with an emphasis on staff competency, nursing empowerment, and improved patient outcomes.

Beyond technical and leadership skills, Healy said the program’s collaborative nature has been particularly impactful. “One of the most meaningful parts of the program has been realizing that everyone is a beginner again,” she said. “Clinical immersion and connecting with my cohort reminded me how powerful shared learning can be.”

“Stacey’s work exemplifies the impact DNP-prepared nurses can have across the full spectrum of acute care,” said Courtney Bartlett, DNP, AGACNP, RNFA, CCRP, AGACNP specialty coordinator. “Her project demonstrates how expert clinical judgment, interprofessional collaboration, and nursing leadership combine to expand lifesaving services and improve patient outcomes in Northern Arizona.”

Preparing leaders for what’s next

Across specialties and settings, Burton, Pantier, and Healy share a common thread: a commitment to purposeful leadership. As they look ahead to May graduation, these three DNP students are poised to move their projects from concept to practice, serving as clinicians, advocates, and leaders who will shape the future of healthcare across Arizona and beyond.