Dr. Laura Kuensting joined the College of Nursing faculty in 2016 as the MSN/DNP Program Director. Dr. Kuensting taught for over five years at the University of Missouri-Columbia at Sinclair School of Nursing, where she was the coordinator of the pediatric nurse practitioner program. She has been a practicing pediatric emergency department advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) in St. Louis for over twenty-five years and a pediatric nurse for over thirty years. In addition to teaching, she continues to practice in the Mercy Children’s Hospital-St. Louis emergency department. In 2015, Dr. Kuensting was the Director of the Institute for Emergency Nurses Advanced Practice (Emergency Nurses Association). Currently, she is the President of the St. Louis Chapter of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners, an active member in the St. Louis Chapter of the Emergency Nurses Association, and an active member of the St. Louis Nurses in Advanced Practice group.