Shannon Cole
About Shannon Cole
Shannon Cole is the Co-Director of Vanderbilt's Program for Interprofessional Learning (VPIL) and a faculty member at Vanderbilt University, with extensive experience as a Family Nurse Practitioner.
Title
Shannon Cole is the Co-Director of Vanderbilt's Program for Interprofessional Learning (VPIL) at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN.
Education and Expertise
Shannon Cole holds a Doctorate of Nursing Practice from the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, which she completed from 2010 to 2013. She earned a Master’s Degree in Family Nurse Practitioner from Vanderbilt University School of Nursing between 1992 and 1994. Prior to that, she completed a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology/Chemistry from the University of Tennessee at Martin from 1986 to 1990.
Background
Shannon Cole has been a faculty member at Vanderbilt University since 1999, where she teaches in the Family Nurse Practitioner Program at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing. She is responsible for courses such as health assessment, pharmacology, and the family nurse practitioner practicum. Cole has also practiced as a Family Nurse Practitioner for 24 years, serving underserved patients in rural settings with a focus on primary care and primary prevention.
Achievements
Shannon Cole co-founded and mapped out the curriculum for Vanderbilt's Program for Interprofessional Learning (VPIL). She initially coordinated the clinical portion of VPIL, involving clinic preceptor recruitment and retention. She was named Co-Director of VPIL in July 2018, where she is responsible for aligning the program’s vision with the curricular needs of four health professional schools housed at five institutions. Additionally, Cole directs administrative and budgetary oversight, facilitates curriculum development and quality improvement, and chairs organizational committee meetings.
Professional Work
As Co-Director of VPIL, Shannon Cole designs and develops opportunities for continual quality improvement of the program. She teaches as a member of the faculty team at Vanderbilt University, engaging with students in classroom, clinic, and simulation settings. Her doctoral work focused on childhood obesity, with interventions centered around nutrition education and physical activity.