April Bigelow, PhD, is an adult gerontology primary care nurse practitioner. She graduated with her BSN in 1999, her MS in 2003, and her PhD in 2008, all from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. After teaching at another school for some time, she returned to the University of Michigan where she is a clinical assistant professor and coordinates the Adult Gerontology Primary Care nurse practitioner program. She has an active clinical practice in the local homeless shelter where she sees patients for management of their chronic illnesses as well as any acute needs. She was on the inaugural Adult Gerontology Content Expert Panel for the American Nurses Credentialing Center and was just reappointed until 2017. She studies innovative and novel approaches to education as a means to improve access and care for complex patients within the community. In fact, she leaves next month to take graduate students to Thailand for a global clinical experience. One of her current projects is a joint effort with medicine and social work. They've created an interactive, modular curriculum with an online game component which will teach resident physicians and nurse practitioner students about caring for the underserved. Their Caring with Compassion curriculum has a large component focused on the integration of the Affordable Care Act and its impact on current health care systems and preventive care within a true interprofessional model.