Faculty Profile


Valerie Telford Cotter, MSN, CRNP, FAANP
Director, Adult Health and Gerontology Nurse Practitioner Programs, School of Nursing
and
Nurse Practitioner, Memory Disorders and Dementia Care Program, Marlton, NJ

University of Pennsylvania - School of Nursing
420 Guardian Drive
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6096
Tel: .(215) 898-1795
FAX (215) 573-7492
E-mail: cottervt@nursing.upenn.edu

Memory Disorders and Dementia Care Program
11009 Lincoln Drive West
Marlton, NJ 08053
856-985-9851

RESEARCH INTERESTS:
Caring for older adults with dementia and their carers; the long-term care continuum.

Biographical Sketch

More than a dozen years ago, Ms. Cotter began her teaching career at Penn in the Gerontology Nurse Practitioner (GNP) Program. This opportunity to focus her interests in academic nursing and nursepractitioner education led to the education of hundreds of students in the Adult Health and Gerontology Nurse Practitioner Programs and interdisciplinary teaching initiatives in Penn's Alzheimer's Disease Center and Geriatric Education Center. She has practiced in a variety ofclinical settings, including primary care, long term care, and currently is in private practice with a neurologist specializing in memorydisorders and dementia care. Her research and scholarship focus on care of the older adult with dementia with funding from the HartfordFoundation, National Institute on Aging and Department of Health and Human Services. In 1997, the University of Pennsylvania honored her withthe Provost's Award for Distinguished Teaching. She was inducted a Fellow of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners in 2004 and serveson the Medical-Scientific Advisory Committee of the Delaware Valley Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association and the Education Committee ofthe American Geriatrics Society. Ms. Cotter was honored as a Visiting Scholar in July 2004 at Aomori University of Health and Welfare, Aomori,Japan. She is widely recognized for her contributions to gerontologic nursing authoring (with Dr. Neville Strumpf) Advanced Practice Nursing with Older Adults, which received the American Journal of Nursing Book of the Year Award for advanced practice nursing (2002).

 


Awards and Honors

Fellow, American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, 2004

American Journal of Nursing Book of the Year Award for Advanced Practice Nursing with Older Adults: Clinical Guidelines, 2003

Provost's Award for Distinguished Teaching, University of Pennsylvania, 1997

Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing, 1983-present

Certified by the American Nurses Association as an Adult Nurse Practitioner, 1983-present


Selected Publications

Cotter, V.T. (2005). Restraint free care in older adults with dementia. The Keio Journal of Medicine. 54(2): 80-84. abstract - Full text PDF

Cotter, V.T., Butler, L., Gardner, B., Karlawish, J. (2005). Does an early stage support group lead to depression and decreased quality of life in persons with Alzheimer's disease? Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. 53: S115.

Cotter, V.T., Karlawish, J.H.T., & Clark, C.M. (2004). Dementia. In M. Forciea, E.P. Swab, D.B. Raziano, & R. Lavizzo-Mourey (Eds.), Geriatric secrets. (3rd ed., pp. 47-54). Philadelphia, PA: Hanley & Belfus.

Cotter, V.T. & Smith, C. (2004). Normal aging changes. Gero Nurse Online. Nurse Competence in Aging. American Nurses Association, the American Nurses Credentialing Center and the John A. Hartford Foundation Institute for Geriatric Nursing, New York University, The Steinhardt School of Education, Division of Nursing . http://www.geronurseonline.com/index.cfm?section_id=6&sub_section_id=10

Boltz M. (2003). Restraint-Free care in nursing homes. In V.T. Cotter (Ed.) On-line education module for Hartford Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. http://www.nursing.upenn.edu/centers/hcgne/gero_tips/RFC

Cotter, V.T. & Youngkin, E.Q. (2003) The climacteric, menopause and the process of aging. In Youngkin, E.Q. & Davis, M.S. (Eds.), Women’s health: A primary care clinical guide. (3rd ed., pp. 387-423). NJ: Prentice Hall.

Cotter, V.T ., Clark, C.M., & Karlawish, J.H.T. (2003). Cognitive function assessment in individuals at risk for Alzheimer’s disease. Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners. 15(2): 79-86.

Cotter, V.T. & Evans, L.E. (2003). Avoiding restraint use in hospitalized older adults with dementia. Try This: Best practices in nursing care to older adults. The John A. Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing and the Alzheimer’s Association. http://www.hartfordign.org/publications/trythis/dementia.pdf

Cotter, V.T & Strumpf, N.E. (Eds.) (2002). Advanced practice nursing with older adults. NY: McGraw-Hill.

Cotter V.T . (2002). Dementia. In Cotter VT & Strumpf NE (Eds.) Advanced practice nursing with older adults. (pp. 183-199). NY: McGraw-Hill.

Cotter, V.T. Forgetfulness. (2002). In MJ Goolsby (Ed). Nurse practitioner secrets. (pp. 64-70). Philadelphia: Hanley & Belfus.


RESEARCH PROJECTS

Hartford Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. Designing a framework and exemplar for clinical guideline development to foster the translation of evidence-based research into practice. Cotter, V.T. (PI), Evans, L.K. (Co-PI) 7/1/04-12/31/05, $4,102.00.

DHHS-HRSA Basic Nurse Education and Practice Program: Geriatric Nursing Knowledge and Experiences in Long Term Care Facilities for Nursing Students. Kagan, S.H. (PI), Cotter, V.T. (Co-PI) “Dementia: A case study exemplar in long-term care.” 7/1/03-6/30/04. $40,318.

Cotter, V.T. (Principal investigator), Karlawish, J.H. (Co-Investigator) “Does an early stage support group affect AD patients’ quality of life, coping strategies, depression and insight?” Funded by the Hartford Center for Geriatric Nursing Excellence, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. 4/02-10/03, $7,235.


 
Hartford Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence
University of Pennsylvania - School of Nursing - 420 Guardian Drive
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6096

TEL: (215) 573-3296 - FAX: (215) 573-6464
Last updated August 15, 2005