Debbie A. Gunter RN,MN,FNP-BC,ACHPN
Personal Data:
Debbie Ann Gunter RN,MN,FNP-BC,ACHPN
9110 Prestwick Club Drive
Duluth, Georgia 30097
770-209-0891 (home) 770-209-0893 (fax)
404-310-5014
npdebbie@hotmail.com
Education:
Post Master’s Family Nurse Practitioner – 1996
University of Missouri – Columbia, Missouri
Master of Nursing – Adult Health – Critical Care – 1980
Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia
Bachelor Of Science in Nursing – 1977
Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida
Certification:
HPNA – Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association
2006 – Advanced Certified Hospice and Palliative Nurse
ANCC – American Nurses Credentialing Center
1996 – Family Nurse Practitioner - #257686
GNA – Georgia Nurses Association
1977 – RN and APRN license #RN052101
ELNEC – End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium
2002 – certified nursing end-of-life instructor
Experience:
2006 – Present
2005 – 2006
1996 – 2005
1982 – present
1984 – 1996
Nurse Practitioner – Emory Healthcare – Atlanta, Georgia
Responsibilities: Member of the palliative care consult service for two
500 bed teaching hospitals and entails the initial H& P, symptom
management, goals of care, advance care planning, and possible
deceleration of care orders and follow-up.
Director of Clinical Services – VistaCare Hospice – Atlanta,
Georgia
Responsibilities: Day to day management of a 25 bed in-patient
hospice unit including staff hiring, development, and retention, along
with nurse practitioner responsibilities of the patients, including
medical management involving drug therapy, lab monitoring, physical
assessments, and palliative care coordination.
Nurse Practitioner – Evercare, Inc. Atlanta, Georgia
Responsibilities: Day to day medical management of geriatric patients
in two nursing homes, including, lab testing, pharmacologic
implementation and management, clinical assessments, patient
teaching, and the medical treatment of acute and chronic health
problems, in collaboration with the attending physicians. Staff and
family teaching also provided with a major focus and end-of-life care.
President – Innovative Healthcare Inc. – Duluth, Georgia
Responsibilities: Design and teaching of critical care, medical surgical,
gerontologic, and palliative nursing seminars throughout the United
States. CE approved seminars range from two to four day programs
covering a variety of topics. Over 500 seminars have been presented to
date and a list is available on request.
Staff Nurse – ICU – St. Joseph’s Hospital – Atlanta, Georgia
1989 – 1990
1981 – 1983
1980 –1981
1978 – 1980
Other Work Experience:
2002 – 2006
1996 – 2006
2001 – 2002
1996 – 1998
June 1997
Professional Affiliations:
2002 to present
2000 to 2004
2000 to present
1998 to 2006
1996 to present
1992 to 2005
1991 to 1995
1987 to present
1978 to present
Honorary Affiliations:
2004 to 2007
1990 to 1996
1978 to present
Responsibilities: PRN staff nurse position in a busy, 27 bed medicalsurgical critical care unit, planning and implementing care for one to
three patients.
Regional Clinical Coordinator – Genentech – Atlanta, GA.
Responsibilities: coordination of educational inservices for nurse
preceptors in seven state southeastern district regarding thrombolytic
therapy.
Nursing Education Coordinator – St. Joseph’s Hospital
Atlanta, GA.
Responsibilities: coordination and teaching of monthly nursing
orientation for new employees, as well as critical care nursing
education and inservices.
Nursing Associate/Instructor – Emory University School of
Nursing – Atlanta, GA.
Responsibilities: skills lab and physical assessment instructor;
graduate clinical instructor
Staff Nurse- ICU- Crawford Long Hospital – Atlanta, GA.
Responsibilities: Full-time position in a 12 bed open-heart/surgical
ICU caring for one to two patients
Clinical Associate in Medicine – Emory University School of
Medicine Faculty – Atlanta, GA.
Responsibilities: end-of-life and geriatrics education presentations to
geriatric fellows, medical students, and nurse practitioner students
Preceptor – Emory University School of Nursing – Atlanta, GA
Responsibilities: clinical preceptor for FNP and GNP students in the
long-term care setting
Volunteer – Grady Memorial Hospital – Atlanta, GA.
Responsibilities: support and care for babies in the neonatal ICU.
Volunteer Nurse Practitioner – Mercy Mobile Health Service –
Atlanta, GA.
Responsibilities: provide primary medical services as a family nurse
practitioner on a mobile healthcare van to all ages of indigent clients
one to two evenings/month.
Volunteer – Volunteers in Medical Missions
Responsibilities: medical team member in Ecuador providing medical
care to Indian tribes in the Andes Mountains.
Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association
American Society on Aging
Georgia Geriatrics Society Board of Directors
Georgia Geriatrics Society
American Nurses Association
Society of Critical Care Medicine
ACL Instructor – American Heart Association
BLS provider – American Heart Association
American Association of Critical Care Nurses
Speaker’s Bureau – Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association
Who’s Who in American Nursing
Sigma Theta Tau Nursing Honor Society
Presentations:
1982 to present
Over 500 seminar and guest lecturer presentations – program
list available
Publications:
Gunter, D. “The assessment of GERD in the long-term care
setting.” The Director, Fall, 2004
Gunter, D. “Dying the good death.” GEROS newsletter for the
Georgia Geriatrics Society, 2000
Co-author of the cardiovascular chapter in Family Care
Guideline, Lippincott, 1999.
References:
Available upon request
Biography
Debbie A. Gunter RN,MN,FNP,ACHPN
Debbie is a certified Family Nurse Practitioner and a certified hospice and palliative care
nurse with over twenty-five years of nursing experience. She received her BSN from
Florida State University, her Masters Degree in Adult Health-Critical Care from Emory
University, and her Family Nurse Practitioner certification from the University of
Missouri. She is on the faculty at Emory University in the School of Medicine, Geriatrics
Department, as well as a guest speaker for the Emory School of Nursing. Ms. Gunter is
also president of her own nursing consulting firm, developing and presenting various
nursing seminars throughout the country.
In her current role of nurse practitioner with the Emory Healthcare System in Atlanta,
Georgia, Debbie is part of the team that is responsible for providing palliative care
expertise to hospitalized patients within two different hospitals. Some of the
responsibilities include, pain and symptom management, goals of care discussions,
withdrawal of life-sustaining treatments, advance care planning, staff education, and
community education. Prior to this position, Ms Gunter had developed and managed a
twenty-five bed in-patient hospice unit. Debbie had also previously served as a nurse
practitioner in the long-term care setting, which involved the medical management and
responsibility of multiple geriatric patients in two different nursing homes in the Atlanta
area. Debbie has been recognized for her outstanding achievements in nursing by Who’s
Who in American Nursing for multiple years. She has co-authored the cardiovascular
chapter in, “Family Care Guidelines,” published in 1998 for nurse practitioners, as well
as other multiple publications
Ms. Gunter is well known for her dynamic and innovative teaching style and her ability
to present challenging concepts in a form that is interesting and easy to understand. She
has presented over 600 nursing seminars in the critical care, medical surgical, geriatric,
and palliative care nursing fields across the country.