Ruth Kleinpell

Dr. Kleinpell has conducted research related to patient and family centered care, advanced practice nursing roles, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on intensive care unit (ICU) clinicians, and patient outcomes in hospitalized older adults. She has also conducted research focusing on outcomes after ICU treatment and role development of acute care nurse practitioners, among other funded studies.

She is currently serving as project director for a Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI)-funded initiative focusing on addressing barriers to patient and family engagement in intensive care unit (ICU) research. She served as lead PI on a national survey assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on over 7,000 advanced practice nurses nationally.  Additionally, she served as PI on a series of international surveys with over 14,000 ICU clinicians examining changes in ICU care as a result of the pandemic. She served as PI on a PCORI funded 2-year initiative to promote patient-centered outcomes research in ICU settings, using a national collaborative with 63 hospital ICU teams to implement patient and family centered initiatives.

As the Associate Dean for Clinical Scholarship, she serves as a mentor to junior faculty for clinical scholarship and research initiatives, collaborates on Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) clinical projects, and provide consultation to the VUMC advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) for various scholarship initiatives. She also serves as Co-I for a therapeutic music in the ICU initiative at VUMC .

Certifications

• Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Certification, American Nurses Credentialing Center

• CCRN Certification, American Association of Critical Care Nurses

• ACLS, American Heart Association

Current Research / Scholarly Interests

• Promoting patient and family centered care research

• Roles and scope of practice of nurse practitioners and physician assistants in acute care settings

• Outcomes of advanced practice nursing care

Grants

Addressing Barriers to Engaging Patient & Caregivers Experiencing Critical Illness to Build Capacity for Patient Centered Outcomes Research.
Funded by Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (Role: PD)

Improving Care for Critically Ill Patients & Families Through Research Dissemination & Implementation.
Funded by Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (Role: PI)

Nursing Education, Practice, Quality and Retention (NEPQR) Simulation Education Training (SET) Program” Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Bureau of Health Workforce Grant.
(Role: Implementation Specialist)

Healthcare Resiliency Program – Practice Transformation and Extension Grant”,

Tennessee Department of Health. (Role: Co-I)

Demonstrating the Outcomes of Nurse Practitioner Care Using a National Collaborative.

Funded by the American Association of Nurse Practitioners Fellows (Role: PI)

Disseminating Patient Centered Outcomes Research to Healthcare Professionals.

Funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality R18. (Role: PI)  

Discharge Planning and Home Telehealth for Post CABG Elders.

Funded by the Agency for Health Care Quality & Research & National Institute of Aging RO1. (Role: PI)

Exploring Outcomes After Critical Illness in the Elderly.

Funded by the National Institute of Nursing Research R29. (Role: PI)

Publications

Journals

Myers C, Lund E, Schorn M. Kleinpell R. Chronicling The Pursuit for Full Practice Authority in Tennessee: Recommendations for a Path Forward, Nursing Outlook,  2024;5:102240

Bruder AL, Gururaja A, Narayani N, Kleinpell R, Schlesinger JJ. Patients’ Perceptions of Virtual Live Music in the Intensive Care Unit American Journal of Critical Care ;2024;33;1: 54–59.

Williams G, Fulbrook P, Alberto L, Kleinpell R, Mathilde C, Kabita S, Daniel KN. Critical care

nursing policy, practice, and research priorities: An international cross-sectional study. Journal of Nursing Scholarship 2023;55:1044-1057.

Kovaleva MA, Kleinpell R, Dietrich MS, et al. Caregivers’ experience with Tele-Savvy Caregiver Program post-hospitalization. Geriatric Nursing 2023;51:156-166.

Kleinpell R, Myers CR, Schorn MN. Addressing barriers to APRN practice: Policy and regulatory implications during COVID-19. Journal of Nursing Regulation 2023;14:13-20

Reeves M, Bunch D, Venable C, Hayes MS, Rice TW, Kleinpell R. Developing and Evaluating a Novel Educational Intensive Care Unit Wall Map Critical Care Nurse; 2023; 43 (20): 80-81

Williams G, Fulbrook P, Alberto L, Kleinpell R. et al. Critical care nursing policy, practice, and research priorities: An international cross-sectional study. Journal of Nursing Scholarship 2023;00:1–14.

Williams T, Hande K, Kleinpell R. Linking process improvement with DNP projects: Strategies to advance clinical leadership initiatives. Nurse Leader. 2022;DOI: 10.1016/j.mnl.2022.04.010 

Schlesinger J, Pearson M, O'Briant D, Yang S, Li J, Bose J, Kleinpell R. "Implementing a Therapeutic Music Program in the Intensive Care Unit Journal of Intensive and Critical Care 2022;57dd4d924e6407dc

Kleinpell R, Myers CR, Likes W, Schorn M. Breaking Down Institutional Barriers to Advanced Practice Registered Nurse Practice. Nursing Administration Quarterly 2022;2:137-143.

Hasselblad M, Morrison J, Kleinpell R. et al. "Promoting Patient and Nurse Safety: Testing a Behavioral Health Intervention in a Learning Healthcare System" Results of the DEMEANOR Pragmatic, Cluster, Cross-over Trial. BJM Open Quality 2022;11:1

Schorn M, Myers CA, Barroso J, Kleinpell R. "Results of a National Survey: Ongoing Barriers to APRN Practice in the United States. Policy, Politics, & Nursing Practice, 2022, 2:118-129.

Peer-reviewed publications:  https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0142-7527

Books

Kleinpell R. Outcome Assessment in Advanced Practice Nursing. 5th Edition. NY: Springer Publishing, 2021 [4th edition published in 2017; 3rd edition published in 2013; 2nd edition in 2009, 1st edition in 2001]