overview

• Joshua Barnes, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, NP-C, CCRN, CNE, is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Advanced Nursing Practice and Education at East Carolina University College of Nursing and a practicing nurse practitioner in hospital medicine and oncology care. His clinical background spans critical care, internal medicine, perioperative systems redesign, and inpatient oncology practice across academic and community healthcare systems.
  
  As both an educator and clinician, Dr. Barnes is committed to East Carolina University's mission of regional transformation, workforce development, and improving health outcomes across eastern North Carolina. His teaching, mentorship, and scholarly work emphasize preparing practice-ready nurses and advanced practice providers equipped to meet the needs of rural and medically underserved communities through evidence-based, equitable, and community-engaged care. He is particularly passionate about expanding access to transformative educational experiences, supporting student success across nursing pathways, and strengthening the future nursing workforce serving the eastern North Carolina region.
  
  Dr. Barnes' teaching and scholarship focus on competency-based nursing education, diagnostic reasoning, simulation-based assessment, implementation science, and advanced practice workforce development. His work examines how curriculum structure, clinical immersion, and competency assessment influence practice readiness and patient care outcomes in nurse practitioner and DNP education. He is actively involved in national projects related to simulation-based competency assessment, observable behavioral evaluation, and competency framework development in advanced nursing education.
  
  He is deeply committed to advancing equitable, patient-centered healthcare and preparing future nurses and nurse practitioners to care for diverse and medically complex populations with clinical competence, ethical humility, and compassion. His professional interests include reducing barriers to healthcare and graduate nursing education, strengthening workforce preparedness, and promoting inclusive, trauma-informed approaches to care and nursing education.
  
  He has presented nationally on transgender primary care, competency-based education, and nursing workforce preparation, and his scholarly work has been published in journals including the Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, Nurse Educator, and Orthopedic Nursing. His broader professional interests include health equity, trauma-informed care, LGBTQ+ health, translational science, and systems-level quality improvement.