Our Chair

Dr. Robin Christian joined the School of Nursing at the University of Mississippi Medical Center as an associate professor of nursing in 2014. After receiving a Bachelor of Arts from Millsaps College in 1988, a Master of Science in 1989 and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 1993 from the University of Memphis, she received a Master of Science in Nursing in 1998 and a Doctor of Nursing Practice in 2009 from Texas Christian University. In 2008, she became an accredited trainer for the Joanna Briggs Institute Comprehensive Systematic Review Training Program of Adelaide, Australia.

Dr. Christian has been the chairperson for the MECDNP Program Management Council (PMC) since April 2015. With more than 15 years of experience as a family nurse practitioner, she served healthcare institutions in Dallas from 1998 to 2008. She has a varied clinical background, including college health, retail health, house calls, long-term care, orthopedic spine, telehealth and urgent care.

The author or coauthor of seven articles in peer-reviewed professional publications, Christian has given numerous presentations at professional meetings throughout the U.S. and was the keynote speaker for Shadow Health Instructional Webinars in 2013.

She is an active member of several professional organizations, including the American Nurses' Association, the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, the American College of Nurse Practitioners and the Mississippi Nurses' Association. A member of the Beta Alpha Chapter of the Sigma Theta Tau honorary nursing organization, Christian is a peer reviewer for the Journal for Nurse Practitioners, Gastroenterology Nursing and the Joanna Briggs Library of Systematic Reviews.

Our purpose

The purpose of the Mississippi Educational Consortium for the Doctorate of Nursing Practice (MECDNP) is to support increasing the nursing leadership capacity in Mississippi. MECDNP fosters statewide-academic programs leading to the doctorate of nursing practice (DNP).

Nurse leaders in practice and health care administration are essential to address the complex determinates of health in Mississippi. MECDNP provides networking activities to showcase the evolving role of the DNP professional and their collective impact on sustaining improvements in the long-term health of Mississippi's underserved and vulnerable populations.