Karen Robinson, DNS, PMHCNS, BC, FAAN

Karen Robinson, DNS, PMHCNS, BC, FAAN, is a professor at the University of Louisville School of Nursing in Louisville, Ky.  In October 2007 she was named as the first recipient of the American Association Retired Persons (AARP)/American Academy of Nursing (AAN) Joint Fellowship program.
 
Robinson, an expert in Geropsychiatric Nursing and issues related to caregiving for persons with dementia, spent a year examining health policy and program planning at the AARP Public Policy Institute in Washington, D.C. 

Supported by both the AAN and AARP, the program is designed to prepare nurse leaders to play a more prominent role in health policy development at the national level.

Dr. Robinson has a long-standing interest in social policy and its effect on older adults. She holds active membership in numerous community organizations and services related to family care giving and Alzheimer’s disease.  She has served as chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the community hospital located in Charlestown, Indiana.

Robinson has worked with caregivers for over 25 years as both a researcher and as an advanced practice psychiatric nurse.  She has designed training programs specifically to help caregivers and family members of persons with dementia to better understand and cope with the unique challenges presented by caring for their loved ones at home.

In 1992, she created the Volunteer Caregivers Program, a dementia-specific,caregiver- focused program established to provide education and supportservices to caregivers and families affected by Alzheimer’s disease and relateddisorders.

Dr. Robinson earned her Doctor of Nursing Science at Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis, her Master of Science in Psychiatric Nursing at the University of Kentucky, and her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at the University of Evansville.