Welcome to the Office of Advanced Practice at Penn Medicine. With over 2,200 Advanced Practice Providers across the Penn Medicine system, we are one of the largest and most established programs in the region. Led by Advanced Practice Directors at each entity, the main aim of the Office of Advanced Practice is organization and strategic planning around professional and collaborative models resulting in a sustainable impact for our patients and the organization at large. Toward that end, our Office serves as a hub for all activity related to APPs between and amongst individual providers, services, departments, service lines, entities, and leaders. Governed by the Advanced Practice Director’s Council, our key priorities around practice, role optimization, advocacy, outcomes, scholarship and dissemination, innovation in care delivery, workforce planning, and value serve as our roadmap toward not only being recognized as the best APP program in the region, but the country as well.
APPs have provided important contributions to patient care since 1965 and are clearly recognized as valued providers and team members nationally, and certainly at Penn Medicine. Our first APP, a Nurse Practitioner, joined the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in 1978 and in the years since we have honored our historical roots and firmly established our position as clinicians, leaders, and care team members. Across all settings and specialties, day or night, you will meet APPs who partner with physicians, nurses, pharmacists, therapists, and others in delivering the cutting-edge, evidenced-based care for which Penn Medicine is nationally recognized.
At Penn Medicine, we not only develop and promote expert advanced practice clinicians but also future leaders. With a robust formal leadership infrastructure that includes an Associate Chief of Advanced Practice for the system, Directors of Advanced Practice for our entities, clinical practices, and regions, and service based APP Managers and Leads, we invest in and support emerging and highly skilled and experienced APP leaders across all services and settings through formal training, developmental opportunities, and mentorship. We believe that the strength and tenure of our Advanced Practice Leadership team is a hallmark and differentiator of our program.
Penn Medicine recognizes the importance of APP voices and engagement through our Practice, Quality and Safety, Professional Development, and Education Councils and Practice, Leadership, Education, and Professional Contribution Special Interest Groups (SIGs). Committee leaders from each respective Council sit on an Advanced Practice Steering Council charged with promoting excellence in Advanced Practice across the health system and creating a model of Advanced Practice initiatives and activities. Some of the important outputs of this group include APP Grand Rounds, Skills Days, Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) series, engagement in quality and safety initiatives, and innovation in roles to name a few. We invite you to enter the website and explore the breadth and depth of our Councils’ work.
In addition to our leadership, organizational culture, and clinical excellence in Advanced Practice, our programs and opportunities for professional development clearly demonstrate the commitment of our senior executives to APPs at Penn Medicine. An investment in post-graduate training for APPs in focused clinical areas allow us to strategically plan for workforce needs through clinical immersion and formal didactic curriculum; the latter supported by a strong academic clinical partnership between the Office of Advanced Practice and the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. Most of our fellows join our team as APPs upon program completion and several have progressed into formal leadership roles.
Our empirically based Professional Advancement and Clinical Excellence Program (PAaCE) is a professional advancement model that supports, fosters, and recognizes the experience, contributions, and professional development of APPs. PAaCE recognizes and distinguishes those making exceptional contributions in the four domains of Advanced Practice: Practice, Leadership, Education, and Professional Contributions.
Advanced Practice at Penn Medicine sets a high bar of excellence and strives to be a national leader. There is simply no better place to build your career as an APP and there is no better time to practice as one. While other organizations may offer you a job, we are offering you a career. We hope you spend some time exploring all we have to offer through this website and invite you to reach out to any of us personally to learn more about Advanced Practice at Penn Medicine.
With Best Regards,
Christopher Aylsworth, MBA, PA-C
Director of Advanced Practice, Chester County Hospital
Chief Cardiovascular Surgery Physician Assistant
Catherine Baglieri, MSN, CRNP
Director of Advanced Practice, Penn Primary Care / Penn Specialty Care Practices
Tara Collins, MBA, MSN, CRNP, FACHE
Director of Advanced Practice, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center
Melissa Dunlop, MBA, PA-C, FACHE, DFAAPA
Director of Advanced Practice, Pennsylvania Hospital
Ashley Kliewer, MS, PA-C, FHM, FACHE
Director of Advanced Practice, Lancaster General Hospital
Corinna Sicoutris, MSN, CRNP, FAANP, FCCM, FACHE
Associate Chief of Advanced Practice, Penn Medicine
Director of Advanced Practice, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
Barbara Todd, DNP, CRNP, FAANP, FAAN
Director of Practice & Education – Advanced Practice, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
Elizabeth Walls, MSN, CRNP, AACC
Director of Advanced Practice, Clinical Practices of the University of Pennsylvania