Valerie Cotter

DrNP, MSN, RN

AGPCNP-BC, APRN, CRNP

FAAN, FAANP

Valerie T. Cotter is an associate professor at Johns Hopkins University with a joint appointment in the School of Nursing and School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. She brings four decades of experience specializing in gerontology and conducts ongoing research in aging, dementia, gerontology and palliative care. Passionate about the psycho-social implications of a dementia diagnosis on her patients and families, Dr. Cotter continues to advocate for individualized patient care through her work. A fellow of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) and American Academy of Nursing (AAN), Dr. Cotter has received many honors and awards, and has a notable list of publications, including the Journal for Nurse Practitioners, American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, Dementia, and Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners. In 2009, she was named Volunteer of the Year for the Delaware Valley Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association for starting the first specialized support group for people with early-stage dementia.

JHU Center Affiliation:
Center for Equity in Aging

Full CV

[email protected]

@ValCottervt

Specialties and Expertise

Aging
Dementia
Gerontology
Interprofessional
Palliative Care

Publications

Scalzo, P., Clevenger, C., Cotter, V. (2025). Knowledge, confidence, and behavioral changes following an Alzheimer’s disease continuing education program for nurse practitioners. Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. 10.1097/JXX.0000000000001136, May 13, 2025. | doi: 10.1097/JXX.0000000000001136

Saylor, M.A., Scerpella, D., Chapin, M., Jajodia, A., Kadali, A., Colburn, J., Cotter, V., Wolff, J. (2025). Developing archetypes for key roles in a pragmatic trial: Implementing human-centered design to promote advance care planning in primary care. Implementation Science Communications. 6(3). https://doi.org/10.1186/s43058-024-00683-9

Wolff, J.L., Scerpella, D., Giovannetti, E.R., Roth, D.L., Hanna, V., Hussain, N., Colburn, J.L., Abshire, Saylor M., Boyd, C.M., Cotter, V., McGuire, M., Rawlinson, C., Sloan, D.H., Richards, T.M., Walker, K., Smith, K.M., & Dy, S.M. (2024). SHARING Choices pragmatic cluster randomized clinical trial of advance care planning. JAMA Internal Medicine. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2024.6215

Cotter, V.T., Sloan, D.H., Scerpella, D.L., Smith, K.M., Saylor, M.A., Wolff, J.A. (2024). Feasibility of using simulation to evaluate implementation fidelity in advance care planning pragmatic trial. American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. doi:10.1177/10499091241282087

Colburn, J., Scerpella, D.L., Chapin, M., Walker, K.A., Dy, S.M., Saylor, M.A., Sharma, N., Rebala, S., Anderson, R., McGuire, M., Hussain, N., Rawlinson, C., Cotter, V., Cockey, K., Wolff, J.L., Smith, K.M., And the SHARING Choices Investigators. SHARING Choices: Lessons learned from implementing a primary-care focused advance care planning intervention in two health systems. (2023). Journal of Pain and Symptom Management. S0885-3924(23)00463-3. Epub 2023 April 14, doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2023.04.014

Smith, K., Scerpella, D., Guo, A., Hussain, N., Colburn, J.L., Cotter, V.T., Aufill, J., Dy, S., & Wolff, J. (2022). Perceived barriers and facilitators of implementing a multicomponent intervention to improve communication with older adults with and without dementia (SHARING Choices) in primary care: A qualitative study. Journal of Primary Care & Community Health, 13; Epub 2022 November 18, doi: 10.1177/21501319221137251/ ID: JPC-22-0326.R1)

Regier, N.G., Cotter, V.T., Hansen, B.R., Taylor, J.L., & Wright, R.J. (2021). Place of death for persons with and without cognitive impairment in the United States. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. doi.org/10.1111/jgs.16979

Cotter VT, Hasan M, Ahn J, Budhathoki, C, Oh, E. (2019). A practice improvement project to increase advance care planning in a dementia specialty practice. American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, 36(9), 831-835. doi: 10.1177/1049909119841544

2024 Distinguished Scholar and Fellow, National Academies of Practice
2018 Penn Nursing Alumni Award for Outstanding Leadership, Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Program, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing
2017 Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing
2014 One of 15 Top Adult Gerontology Professors, Nurse Practitioner School
2011 Appreciation Award, Alzheimer’s Association Delaware Valley Chapter’s Early Stage Initiatives
2004 Fellow, American Academy of Nurse Practitioners
1997 Provost’s Award for Distinguished Teaching, University of Pennsylvania

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