Penny Kaye Jensen, DNP, APRN, FNP-C, FAAN, FAANP       

VACO/ONS 

National APRN Program Manager      

Ronald Nardi, MSN, APRN, PMHCNS-BC 

Alaska VA Healthcare System  

Substance Use Disorder, Domiciliary Care, Same Day Access Mental Health APRN    

Great news! Penny Kaye Jensen, DNP, FNP-BC, FAAN, FAANP and Mr. Ronald Nardi MSN, APRN, PMHCNS-BC have agreed to serve as chairpersons of the newly formed NOVA Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) Committee. 

Penny Kaye Jensen

Dr. Jensen began her career with the Department of Veterans Affairs in 1994 and has practiced for the past 22 years as a nurse practitioner in the Outpatient Primary Care Clinics at the Salt Lake City Veterans Affairs Healthcare System. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing (AAN), American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) and a Distinguished Practitioner and Fellow of the National Academies of Practice (NAP). Dr. Jensen served as President of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners. She received the Towers Health Policy Pinnacle Award as well as the Loretta C. Ford Award in 2017 for her tireless work to further the NP profession at the national level. She is the only NP in the nation to receive both awards.

Dr. Jensen serves as the National APRN Health Policy Liaison for the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Nursing Services in Washington, D.C. Her primary responsibility has been to lead the Veterans Health Administration’s (VHA) initiative to approve Full Practice Authority (FPA) for all Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) throughout the enterprise. She led the VA FPA initiative which resulted in APRN Final Rule (AP44) being approved, granting full practice authority to APRN roles practicing within the VA: Certified Nurse Practitioner (CNP), Certified Clinical Nurse Specialist (CCNS), and Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM). Dr. Jensen shared that, “it has taken over 10 years for this much anticipated day to arrive, ironically falling on Florence Nightingale’s 200th Birthday! I can proudly report that all 140 VA Healthcare Systems (100%) have amended their bylaws to allow FPA for three of the four roles of APRN practice! Congratulations to Puerto Rico for moving forward!”

Ronald Nardi

Mr. Ronald Nardi graduated from Vanderbilt University School of Nursing where he earned his Master of Science degree in Adult Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing and began his VA career at the Nashville, Tennessee Veterans Administration. It is here where he was afforded the opportunity to serve our Nations’ Heroes and recognize the gift of freedom that was paid by those in the armed forces. As a Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS), he secured his Advanced Practice Registered Nurse licensure in 1994 and was the first APRN at the Institute of Living in Connecticut to prescribe psychotropic medications on an inpatient basis. Mr. Nardi’s career has spanned a variety of psychiatric settings and roles across the full continuum of care. He has served as staff nurse, research, director of inpatient and intensive outpatient care, PTSD Team, Behavioral Health Interdisciplinary Program (BHIP) Team, Substance Use Disorder including Suboxone Treatment, Primary Care Mental Health Integration (PCMHI), Same Day Access, Domiciliary Care, Teacher and Mentor. As of October 2020, Mr. Nardi will reach a milestone of having served 20 years as an APRN in the VA.  

Mr. Nardi is currently working at the Alaska VA, having relocated in 2018. He has joined the Nurse Professional Standards Board and has served in a variety of clinical and leadership roles including Interim Clinical Director for the Alaska VA Mental Health Care Line. APRN Nardi is an inaugural member of the Office of Nursing Services Advanced Practice Registered Nurse Council, Clinical Nurse Specialist Council and APRN Qualification Standards Board.  

Mr. Nardi joined NOVA many years ago and presented at his first annual conference in New Orleans on Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. He then went on to join the NOVA Board or Directors as a National Director and then Executive Director as Membership Secretary. Mr. Nardi has served as Chairperson of NOVA’s Annual Meeting for several years. At the 2018 Annual Conference Nursing Strong: Evidence Based Care for America’s Heroes in Richmond, Virginia, he again presented. This time as speaker, he shared his experience as it related to Disaster Emergency Medical Personnel System (DEMPS) and his deployment to Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria. Nurse Nardi is passionate about Nursing and strengthening and growing NOVA. Mr. Nardi feels that, “It is all about the nurses, all nurses, and what NOVA can do for them. Nurses need to be recognized in bold ways.”

If you are an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN), please contact NOVA nova@vanurse.org. Several members are APRNs but joined NOVA prior to becoming an APRN. NOVA wants to make sure you are in the appropriate membership category. And, if you are interested in joining the NOVA APRN Committee, please let NOVA know. Email notifications with details for future NOVA APRN Committee Meetings and VA APRN National Town Hall Meetings will be going out soon. Stand by!

Pictured (Right to Left):  APRN Council, Penny Kaye Jensen and Ronald Nardi, VA APRNs in Puerto Rico