telephone: (215) 481-5525
e-mail: dfitzpatrick@amh.org

Role At Dixon
Denise Fitzpatrick Kafer is a faculty member whose primary role is theory and clinical teaching in N301: Nursing Care of the Family at Abington Memorial Hospital. She is also the course coordinator for N201: Adult Medical-Surgical Nursing. Denise is Chair of the Faculty Development Committee, and also serves on Student Evaluation and Achievement Committee and Curriculum Committee.

Educational Background
1974 - RN - Hahnemann Univeristy
1982 - BSN - Gwynedd-Mercy College
1982 - MSN - University of Pennsylvania
Present - Ed.D. (c) candidate at Nova Southeastern University

Professional Experience
Denise has over 35 years of clinical experience in different facets of nursing practice. Most of her career has been focused in the Maternal - Newborn area. She has experience in Adult and Pediatric Medical-Surgical nursing, as well as Community Health care nursing. She also has been in the educational arena for 25 years in all types of nursing programs; BSN, AD and Diploma. She was a member of the faculty of Frankford Hospital School of Nursing for close to 10 years before coming to Abington in 2003.

Professional Awards and Recognition
Denise received a nursing excellence award from AMH in 2006, and an Excellence in Teaching award from Frankford Hospital in 2001. She was a contributing editor for a chapter in "Nursing Diagnosis Reference Manual" for the Springhouse Corporation, Springhouse, Pa. She maintains her clinical skills by maintaining her certification in AWHONN In-patient Obstetrics nursing since 1986 . She is also an active member in the National League for Nursing (NLN) and is currently certified as a certified nurse educator by the NLN.

Personal Interests
She is active in boating, and loves to Kayak. Interests also including hiking, and exploring.

Nursing Education As A Career
Denise feels that nursing has always been her calling, and loves her career as much today, as she did 35 years ago. " I find a great satisfaction in helping my patient achieve a high level of wellness, and feel that I have devoted my life to achieving this personal goal". I enjoy the challenge, and critical thinking skills required in today's medical arena. She has also found a great love of teaching, and enjoys the interaction with the students, watching them grow and develop into caring professionals.