State Liaison Candidate
Campaign Message
As a nurse practitioner for over 30 years, I have had the opportunity to personally witness the advancement of the nurse practitioner profession. This has been an exciting journey seeing the expansion of the NP role, move to full practice authority and growing expertise of NPs in all aspects of health care. My professional background has been in diabetes care, education, research and most recently digital therapeutics. In 2010, I was recognized as a Fellow of AANP, an honor I wear proudly. Over the past two years I have served as the AANP State Liaison for Minnesota. In this role I have connected with nurse practitioner organizations in the state as well as NP students as they transition into practice. As State Liaison, I will continue to seek new opportunities to promote the NP profession, support NPs in practice and participate in advocacy activities at the state and national level.
Bio Sketch
Ellie Strock is an adult nurse practitioner and consultant in digital therapeutics with over 30 years experience in diabetes care, education and research. Most recently Ellie was Vice President, Medical Affairs, Voluntis, developing software medical devices for diabetes and oncology. Previously, Ms. Strock was with the International Diabetes Center, Minneapolis for over 25 years holding numerous positions including Education Director for the WHO Collaborating Center for Diabetes Education, Translation and Technology. In 2010, Ellie was inducted as a Fellow of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners. In 2011, she was named Visiting Professor, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China. In 2019 she was the recipient of the National Cancer Institute Directors Award of Merit for development of the first oncology digital health technology platform for risk-based patient management. She has served as AANP MN State Liaison since June 2024. As co-author of Staged Diabetes Management (SDM), she assisted in implementation of SDM in over 400 sites throughout the United States and 40 countries worldwide. Ellie s research include use of continuous glucose monitoring and development of the ambulatory glucose profile (AGP). She has authored over 30 articles on diabetes in peer-reviewed journals and has made numerous presentations at national and international conferences.
What do you think is the biggest challenge facing NPs in the delivery of health care over the next decade? How should AANP address this issue to support NPs and the populations they serve?
There is critical shortage of primary care providers projected over the next 10 years. The demand for nurse practitioners to fill this gap is increasing. To meet this demand, several issues face NPs including the ongoing struggle for full-practice authority (and maintaining FPA where it has been achieved), demand for more quality education programs to train NPs, and need for more mentorship opportunities to support NPs as they transition to practice. To successfully address these issues, AANP can support NPs in ongoing legislative activities at the state and federal level, provide support, continuing education and mentorship opportunities for new NPs.
Describe, in detail, leadership and other professional skills that you will bring to AANP and provide at least one initiative or outcome that occurred because of these skills.
As an NP for over 30 years, I have had the opportunity to be involved in several roles including clinical practice, clinical research, health professional education, and leading an internationally recognized diabetes center. Since most diabetes care is provided in primary care, I was a co-author of a comprehensive, evidence-based, systematic approach to diabetes care focused on primary care, Staged Diabetes Management (SDM), which was implemented throughout the US and in over 40 countries worldwide. This led to consistently improved clinical and organizational outcomes that have been published in multiple peer-reviewed articles globally.
Identify one major challenge that could impact your ability to fulfill the responsibilities of the position you are seeking. How do you plan to manage this challenge to be successful?
One challenge that could impact my ability to fulfill the responsibilities is finding innovative ways to connect with NP students throughout the state. In Minnesota there are 8 university-based NP programs and several on-line programs. They have a tightly scheduled curriculum that doesn t allow for many extra educational sessions. Connecting with students attending local NP conferences is one strategy, but it is limited. Developing relationships with faculty leaders is a key strategy for me. I will be seeking opportunities for in-person or online sessions regarding my experience as an NP and the value of belonging to a national NP organization.
AANP’s mission is to empower all NPs to advance accessible, person-centered, equitable, high-quality health care for diverse communities through practice, education, advocacy, research, and leadership. If elected, how do you propose to advance AANP's mission and strategic plan?
My strategy to advance AANP s mission and strategic plan is to promote AANP and its critical role in supporting NPs at every opportunity. In my role as MN State Liaison, I have been actively involved with the MN NP/APRN organizations attending in-person meetings and conferences. At every meeting I have an AANP booth and try to connect with as many attendees as possible. I have brought together people who share a common interest or need, and these connections are critical to building a positive relationship. PEARL is a part of every interaction I have and every connection that I build.