Naples & Everglades National Park Escape 2024 Encore Symposium

Dawn Bent, DNP, MSN, CRNA

Dr. Dawn Elizabeth Bent began her career as an adult critical care nurse in a neurosurgical intensive care unit. She segued into a pediatric intensive care unit and it is not by chance that she remained with this patient population for over 25 years.

Dr. Bent is a practicing Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) and serves as Program Director for the Doctor of Nursing Practice-Nurse Anesthesia (DNP-NA) program at Penn. Dr. Bent's pursuit of anesthesia began when she was approached by an anesthesiologist who felt she would excel as a CRNA. She has practiced anesthesia for 17 years and served as an anesthesia educator for 14 years.

Dr. Bent has been awarded by students for her clinical preceptorship and strives to improve patient experiences at St. Christopher’s Hospital where she currently practices pediatric anesthesia. Dr. Bent believes remaining invested in the clinical practice of anesthesia is essential to excelling as an educator.

Dr. Bent feels a personal commitment to the success of each of her students through mentoring, and leadership which helps her guide the next generation of CRNAs.

Katherine Meuti, DNP, CRNA

Katherine Meuti, DNP, CRNA has been a certified registered nurse anesthetist since 2008 and has been residing in Jacksonville, FL for the past 10 years. Currently, she is an Assistant Professor and Assistant Director of the Anesthesiology Nursing Program at the University of North Florida. She also practices as a CRNA at several clinical sites in the Jacksonville area, including the Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville.

After graduating with her BSN from Bowling Green State University in 2002, Kathy worked as a pediatric intensive care nurse in Tampa, Florida. In 2005, she moved to Cincinnati, OH, to pursue her master’s education in nurse anesthesiology. After completion, she took a faculty position at the University of Cincinnati nurse anesthesia program and later became the Assistant Director/Clinical.

In 2012, her family moved her to Jacksonville, FL, where she started off working as a CRNA at local hospitals before deciding to specialize in Obstetric Anesthesia in 2014. Shortly after, she pursued her Doctor of Nursing Practice Degree. Once graduated in 2017, she accepted a faculty position at the University of North Florida and has been there since. She started off as the Coordinator of Clinical Education and has now moved to be the Assistant Director.

Her areas of interest include pharmacology, obstetric anesthesia, emotional intelligence, and resilience.

Mark Talon, DNP, MSN, CRNA

Dr. Mark Talon is a graduate of the University of Texas Nurse Anesthetist program and an alumnus of the inaugural class for Doctorate in Nursing Practice at Texas Christian University in 2009. He is a clinical coordinator for Shriners Hospital, Texas Christian University Nurse Anesthetist program. Past, Director of the Texas Board of Nurse Anesthetist. Nominated to the AANA Resolutions Committee 08/2016 to 08/2017 and currently serving on the AANA Bylaws Committee.

As the Chief Nurse Anesthetist for Shriners Burn Hospital for Children in Galveston he is actively involved in the peri-anesthetic and ICU care of critically ill pediatric patients resulting from burns, trauma and other related disorders. Mark is also actively involved in critical care research involving the resuscitation, monitoring, and ventilation of critical and unstable patients. He has the privilege of being published in journals such as Anesthesia and Analgesia, Journal of Burns, and as a coauthor in the textbook of Total Burn Care.

Kimberly Westra, CRNA, DNP, MSN, APRN, MBAc

Kimberly Westra CRNA, MS, DNP, is a certified registered nurse anesthetist with 21 years of experience and a faculty member of the University of Pennsylvania. She began her career in Baltimore, Maryland with experience as a critical care nurse at Johns Hopkins University. Kimberly is the Chief Nurse Anesthetist at Tidal Health Regional Medical Center in Maryland. Kimberly is the clinical site coordinator at Tidal Health, Johns Hopkins Nurse Anesthesia, University of Maryland Nurse Anesthesia, and Old Dominion University.

Dr. Westra is a doctoral graduate of Chatham University and is an MBA candidate in Healthcare Finance and Administration at Patten University. She is a member of the Sigma Theta Tau honor society at Chatham and serves in the mentoring program for advanced practice nurses.

Mrs. Westra’s extensive clinical experience includes her role as an RNFA, CNOR, and CPAN. She specializes in difficult airway program development within healthcare networks. Dr. Westra is a faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania Nurse Anesthesia Program. Kimberly teaches both didactic and hands-on simulation labs to the interdisciplinary team.

Westra is a dynamic and energetic speaker who engages audiences with lively discussions on numerous topics such as CPC Exam Review, Cardiac Anesthesia, Pediatrics, and a variety of anesthesia core concepts. Kimberly speaks locally and nationally on anesthesia clinical topics and healthcare business management.

Steve Wooden, DNP, CRNA, NSPM-C

Dr. Wooden is a graduate of the University Tennessee College of Nursing, The University of Nebraska Medical Center Nurse Anesthesia Program, The Kansas University Medical Center Nurse Anesthesia Masters program, and the Duke University DNP program.

Over the past 40 years, he has been managing partner in two private practice anesthesia group in central and east central Nebraska. The practices had a strong non-surgical pain management focus and provided comprehensive anesthesia services to over 26 hospital facilities in Nebraska.

Dr. Wooden is the Past President of the National Board of Certification and Recertification for Nurse Anesthetists (NBCRNA), Past Chairman of the Nebraska State Board of Health, and Past Chairman of the Nebraska Advanced Practice Nursing Board. He is also the recipient of the AANA Ira P. Gunn Award for professional advocacy (2009) and the AANA Clinical Practitioner of the Year (Alice McGaw Award) (2001), as well as a former AANA Regional Director and Treasurer.