Rita F D'Aoust

Dr. Rita F. D'Aoust is an associate professor and associate dean for teaching and learning at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing and holds a joint appointment in the School of Medicine, Department of General Internal Medicine.Dr. D'Aoust earned her bachelor of science and master of science degrees and two post master's certificate in acute care nurse practitioner and adult nurse practitioner from the University of Rochester School of Nursing. She earned her PhD from the University...See more

Dr. Rita F. D'Aoust is an associate professor and associate dean for teaching and learning at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing and holds a joint appointment in the School of Medicine, Department of General Internal Medicine.Dr. D'Aoust earned her bachelor of science and master of science degrees and two post master's certificate in acute care nurse practitioner and adult nurse practitioner from the University of Rochester School of Nursing. She earned her PhD from the University of Rochester Warner Graduate School of Education and Human Development. She completed a mini-fellowship in geriatrics at the David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles. She is a board-certified adult nurse practitioner and serves medically underserved communities and is a certified nurse educator.Dr. D'Aoust has served from the sidelines as a spouse and family member for military and veteran service and as a nurse practitioner caring for veterans in community settings. She has made significant contributions to educate nurses caring for veterans. She served as the co-director for the Veterans Affairs Nursing Academy (VANA) and subsequent Veterans Affairs Nursing Academic Partnerships (VANAP) at the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital and University of South Florida. With federal funding, she served as the primary investigator and led the development, implementation, and evaluation of the Veteran to Bachelor of Science Program at the University of South Florida. She developed an innovative approach to eliminate barriers and provide recognition of prior learning by developing an approach to award upper-division academic credit for nursing courses through an evaluation of American Council of Education (ACE) transcripts for military medics and corpsmen and recognizing prior coursework regardless of completion date. She led the development of an online course, Introduction to Military and Veteran Healthcare. She has served as a Jonas Scholar mentor for doctoral students at Johns Hopkins School of Nursing and the University of South Florida.Her research contributions to the impact of military service on veteran health include the use of a novel therapy, Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) to treat post-traumatic stress disorder in homeless veterans, PTSD secondary to military sexual trauma, and the incidence of fibromyalgia symptomology in community-dwelling women veterans. Dr. D'Aoust has mentored numerous doctoral students on policy issues for veterans, nurse practitioner roles in veteran care, and quality improvement initiatives in VA settings.Dr. D'Aoust is an expert in interprofessional education, community service, and providing access to care for vulnerable populations. Dr. D'Aoust has long made her mark where the business of education and health care intersect. She has led advances in curriculum and classroom technology that match an understanding of ways to construct learning with the philosophy of education and a mastery of financial issues in higher education. At the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, she continues to lead the development and implementation of innovative teaching and learning strategies. Dr. D'Aoust is a nationally recognized leader in education program development, evaluation, and administration. She brings multiple PI grant expertise, especially in the areas of program evaluation and academic-service collaborations, quality improvement initiatives in acute care and community settings, and integrating geriatrics in primary care. At Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, she led the development and transition for an online program for Doctors of Nursing Practice Advanced Practice (nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists). She led the... See less