Samantha Sommerness, DNP, APRN, CNM

Dr. Samantha A. Sommerness DNP, APRN, CNM (Sam) began her nursing career in 1993 in the care of women and children in the US Army. Her professional nursing practice is diverse as she holds a certification as a Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM), spent 6 years in the United States Army as a labor and delivery nurse, and was deployed to Bosnia for 1 year during Operation Joint Endeavor. Sam is a passionate educator and health care consultant and has held a variety of positions, from 2007 to 2014, she spent 7 years developing obstetrical care models for health systems. She has been a faculty and facilitator for a national project for AHRQ’s Safety Program for Perinatal Care where over 50 hospitals enrolled to improve patient safety, team communication, and quality of care for mothers, and their newborns within labor and delivery units. Since 2015, Sam has been a full-time educator and serves as a Clinical Associate Professor for the University of Minnesota School of Nursing. a.      Sam has held a variety of positions in AWHONN. She served on the 2018 AWHONN National Program Committee.  She was President of the Minnesota section (2012-2014) and has been involved in the Minnesota Section Committee in both conference planning and education since 2008.  She is currently in her third year of the Ph.D. program, speaks nationally on perinatal safety, and perinatal opioid disorder, and is a published author.