Patricia D. Franklin, PhD, RN

Dr. Franklin’s career is distinguished by achievements in practice, program management, academia and professional development. While in primary care practice, she designed and taught interprofessional programs for patient populations; collaborating with community resources and experts that support family and child development. Franklin also served on a number of professional association, government, and coalition boards and committees. Within these forums she held appointed and elected leadership positions including president of a national professional association and served as their representative on major policy issues. Transitioning to the non-profit sector, Dr. Franklin successfully managed a multi-year, multi-site, John A. Hartford Foundation (JAHF) grant that began as a $2 million award and over 10 years grew to $26 million in funding. Dr. Franklin currently holds the position of assistant professor in the Department of Partnerships, Professional Education and Practice at the University of Maryland School of Nursing, teaching health policy, health systems leadership in graduate programs. In addition, she serves as Director of the Office of Professional Education (OPE), developing professional continuing education (CE) programs as well as launching and chairing an interprofessional CE consortium with colleagues from the Schools of Medicine, Pharmacy, Social Work and Law and was awarded a $20K intramural grant to build the University’s interprofessional CE portfolio. This consortium also produces an annual Interprofessional Forum on Ethics and Religion in Health Care that attracts over 100 attendees from the community. This consortium also collaborates in statewide initiatives, e.g. to improve antibiotic stewardship in long-term care facilitates. The OPE works with multiple internal and external stakeholders to design online, simulation, and traditional CE accredited learning activities. Dr. Franklin also served as the Director of the Nurse Leadership Institute at the School of Nursing. As PI on this $2.5 million, 5-year state awarded grant to build nurse leadership capacity in Maryland, Dr. Franklin designed and received IRB approval for a longitudinal research project to study the effect of the leadership development program on 5 cohorts of participants.