Clinical Professor
Assistant Dean for APRN Academic Programs
Department
Department of Health Behavior and Clinical Sciences
Contact
University of Michigan School of Nursing
400 North Ingalls Building
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-5482
In the News
Aug. 27, 2026: Michigan News "Meta settles social media addiction lawsuit: U-M experts available to comment"
Aug. 21, 2026: Medscape "Ketamine Cystitis a Growing but Underrecognized Problem in Recreational Users"
May 11, 2026: NPSchools "Ask the Professors: The Fight for Full Practice Authority in Michigan"
Interests
Trauma-informed care
Adolescent health
Gender identity and sexuality
Health policy and underserved populations
Professional advocacy
Elizabeth Kuzma, DNP, RN, FNP-BC, is a Clinical Professor in the Health Behavior and Clinical Sciences department at the University of Michigan School of Nursing (UMSN), where she also serves as Assistant Dean of APRN Programs.
As a Family Nurse Practitioner, Dr. Kuzma is dedicated to serving vulnerable and underserved populations, with particular focus on at-risk youth with high Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE). She is an expert in delivering holistic, trauma-informed primary care grounded in cultural humility — encompassing health promotion, disease prevention, and the management of minor acute and chronic conditions. Her clinical background spans nurse-managed care settings, school-based health centers, and a local health department, and she serves as a faculty preceptor and mentor at the University of Michigan's student-run free clinic, where she works with students across medicine, nursing, social work, dentistry, and pharmacy.
Dr. Kuzma's research and scholarship center on adolescent health, with an emphasis on trauma, sexuality, and gender identity, as well as on integrating these topics into nurse practitioner education.
She is also a dedicated advocate for the profession and for health policy, viewing public policy engagement, at the organizational, local, state, and federal levels, as the broadest form of patient advocacy for health promotion and disease prevention. Dr. Kuzma previously served on the AANP National Nominations Council, as the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) State Representative for Michigan, and as a member of the AANP Research Committee.
Current Research Grants and Programs
University of Michigan Center on Research on Learning and Teaching (CRLT), "A Unified Approach: Competency-Based Clinical Education Across Multiple NP Specialties." Role: Co-Investigator. 1/1/2026-12/31/2027
University of Michigan Gilbert Whitaker Fund for the Improvement of Teaching, "Cultivating Policy Leadership: Developing a Health Policy Concentration for Nurses." Role: Co-Investigator. 5/1/2026-5/30/2027
Teaching
Dr. Kuzma teaches in the graduate level clinical courses with Primary Care Adult-Gero and Family Nurse Practitioner students. In addition to her classroom work, she serves as a clinical preceptor and mentors graduate students during various courses throughout their program at the School of Nursing. She serves as a guest lecturer in many of the Primary Care courses. As an educator, Dr. Kuzma believes that expressing and demonstrating her passion for nursing and the nurse practitioner profession is essential to educate and motivate future nurse practitioner students.
Affiliations/Service
American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP), Active Member, 2010-present.
Michigan Council of Nurse Practitioners (MICNP), Active Member, 2007-present.
National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculty (NONPF), Active Member, 2012-present
Golden Key International Honour Society, Active Member, 2013-present
JAANP Peer Reviewer, Content Reviewer, 2015-present
Journal of Dental Education (JDE), Content Reviewer, 09/2016 – Present
Women’s Health Issues, Content Reviewer, 04/2019 – Present
Journal for Nurse Practitioners (JNP), Content Reviewer, 09/2019 – Present
Western Journal for Nursing Research (WJNR), Content Reviewer, 12/2019 – Present
MICNP Legislative Ambassador, 9/2020 - Present
Notable Awards/Honors
Daisy Award for Extraordinary Nurse Educators, 2025
UMSN Inclusive Teaching Award, 2024
Center for Health and Research Transformation (CHRT) Health Policy Fellowship, 2024
MICNP Nurse Practitioner Scholar of the Year Award, 2022
AACN Faculty Policy Intensive Fellowship, 2017
AANP State Award of Excellence, 2012
Education
DNP, Wayne State University, 2014
MSN, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 2008
BSN, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 2003
Completion of the Online Learning Consortium (OLC) Foundational Online Teaching Certificate, 2019
Completion of the Online Learning Consortium (OLC) Online Nursing Mastery Series, 2020
Publications Highlights
Kuzma, E. K., Cannon, L. M., Coolidge, E., Harris, M., Buckley, C., Chapin, E., Coley, K., Arbogast-Wilson, M. (2022). Faculty, preceptor and student perceptions of the need for trauma-informed education: Recommendations for implementation. Nurse Educator, 47(4), E80-E85. doi: 10.1097/NNE.0000000000001174.
Ammerman, B. A., Jones, H. M., Riske, J. C., & Kuzman, E. K. (2022). The well-woman visit: Adolescence through end-of-life. Advances in Family Practice Nursing, 4(1), 91-115. doi: 10.1016/j.yfpn.2021.12.005.
Jones, H. M., Ammerman, B. A., Joiner, K. L., Lee, D. R., Bigelow, A., & Kuzman, E. K. (2023). Evaluating an intervention of telehealth education and simulation for advanced practice registered nurse students: A single group comparison study. Nursing Open, 10(6), 4137-4143. doi: 10.1002/nop2.1620.
Kuzma, E. K., Ammerman, B. A., Lee, V., & Baird, J. (2023). Re-envisioning youth sexual health care: Supporting sex positivity in a digital world. Journal of Pediatric Health Care, 38(3), 310-322. doi: 10.1016/j.pedhc.2023.11.009.
Kuzma, E. K. & Yingling, C. T. (2023). A call to all nurses from transgender people: Treat me as a whole person; I am more than my gender identity. Evidence-Based Nursing, 27(1). DOI: 10.1136/ebnurs-2022-103601.
Kuzma, E. K. & Yingling, C. T. (2024). Gender diversity in nursing: Time to erode the social fallacy of gender norms to create an inclusive nursing workforce. Evidence-Based Nursing, 28(1). https://doi.org/10.1136/ebnurs-2023-103908
Kuzma, E.K. & Yingling, C. T. (2025). Transgender and non-binary adolescents assert individualised treatment goals for gender affirmation. Evidence-Based Nursing, 28(4). https://doi.org/10.1136/ebnurs-2024-103975.