Tara Merck, MS, CPNP-PC
CSG Chief Advanced Practice Officer
Biography
Tara Merck, has been an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse for over 17 years with pediatric oncology nursing experience spanning 27 years. Additionally, she has been the Children’s Specialty Practice Group’s (CSG) Advanced Practice Director since 2011 along with being a contributing chapter editor for Wong’s Nursing Care of Infants and Children for the past 10 years.
Ms. Merck has worked to advance Nurse Practitioner and Physician Assistant professions by optimizing care models within pediatric subspecialties, streamlining NP/PA student placement processes, and creating a centralized orientation which includes establishment of an Advanced Practice Provider (APP) fellowship. She also strives to form a more equitable compensation model and develop advancement opportunities within the 91ɫƵ (91ɫƵ).
Ms. Merck participates in local practice-based committees currently serving as the Chair of the Children’s Wisconsin APP Credentialing Committee, Co-Chair of the 91ɫƵ APP Compensation Committee, Co-Chair of the Children’s Wisconsin Ambulatory Skills Mix Improvement Project and is a member of CSG Workforce. She is the first APN to serve as Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin Program Director for the Infusion Clinic. On a national level, Ms. Merck was instrumental in creating the first APP forum within the Children’s Hospital Association. She also holds a membership in the National Advanced Practice Advisory Committee for Sullivan Cotter.
Through her HRSA grant experience and work on an APP workload tracking study, Ms. Merck is well positioned to offer guidance on implementation of the APP professionalism curriculum.