When nurse practitioner Colleen McIlvennan, PhD, DNP, ANP, was deciding which career path to take at the age of 18, a life-changing moment occurred: Her father had a heart attack. After witnessing the value of health care providers as they worked to improve her father’s health, McIlvennan set off to become an advanced practice provider (APP) herself.
For 14 years, McIlvennan has worked as a nurse practitioner for the advanced heart failure and transplant team at the University of Colorado Hospital. She also serves as the section head for APPs in the Division of Cardiology at the University of Colorado Department of Medicine, leading a team of almost 30 APPs in the division.
When she is not helping patients or guiding other APPs, McIlvennan is conducting research through the Adult and Child Center for Outcomes Research and Delivery Science (ACCORDS).
In light of National APP Week — celebrated annually on the fourth week of September — we recently spoke with McIlvennan about her career as an APP and efforts to improve the health care system through her work as a nurse practitioner, APP leader, and researcher.