October 2021 | Issue 4 | Page 2
Palliative Care Provider Highlight : Dr . Kristi Acker
Dr . Kristi A . Acker , DNP , PhD , FNP-BC , AOCNP , ACHPN , FAANP is a clinical assistant professor at the University of Alabama and is a proud graduate of the inaugural DNP program at UAB in 2009 . Dr . Acker is ACCN certified as a Family Nurse Practitioner and holds advanced nursing specialty certifications in oncology ( AOCNP ) and palliative care ( ACHPN ). She has extensive training in leading difficult patient and caregiver conversations . She has completed the American Cancer Society ' s VitalTalk workshop , the US Department of Health and Human Services Train-the-Trainer program on shared-decision making , and the core ELNEC Train-the-Trainer curriculum .
Dr . Acker has extensive clinical experience in palliative care and hematology / oncology , working in community oncology since 1993 . She maintains her clinical practice with Oncology Associates of West Alabama , providing outpatient oncology services at the Manderson Cancer Center at DCH ( Fayette , AL campus ). Although she has devoted her advanced practice career to oncology , Dr . Acker has maintained a commitment to advance palliative care , not only at the end of life but for all patients dealing with serious illnesses . On a state level , Dr . Acker was appointed by the State of Alabama Medical Director to serve on the State Advisory Council on Palliative Care and Quality of Life , where she is serving a third term along with other state palliative care champions , like UAB ' s own Dr . Rodney Tucker . Nationally ,
Kristi Acker , DNP , PhD , FNP-BC , AOCNP , ACHPN Assistant Professor-Clinical , Graduate Nursing Capstone College of Nursing , The University of Alabama , Tuscaloosa
she was elected to serve a 3-year term on the Board of Directors for the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association ( HPNA ) which she will complete in December . Dr . Acker belongs to numerous professional organizations , including the American Nurses Association , Alabama State Nurses Association , American Academy of Nurse Practitioners , Honor Society of Nursing ( Sigma Theta Tau ), Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association , and the Oncology Nursing Society , among others . In 2020 , Dr . Acker was inducted as a fellow of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners . Research / clinical interest include Oncology , palliative care , advanced practice , geriatrics , and chronic disease .
What have the last two years ( amid the pandemic ) been like for Dr . Acker ? From a practice perspective : 2020 was deemed the " Year of the Nurse ," but no one could genuinely imagine just how spot-on that proclamation would be . Nurses were front and center in caring for those patients dealing with COVID and did so without a protocol handbook . In practice , I saw oncology patients struggle to receive information on their disease without the support of loved ones by their side , and some patients die in isolation due to COVID restrictions . Nurses became the bridge from patient to family and vice versa . Even those nurses who were not on the frontline , such as nurse educators , dealt with obstacles from the pandemic , such as clinical placement and educational delivery challenges . But in the end , it was the nurses , and other vital members of the health care team who persevered and remained devoted to patient advocacy throughout the pandemic .