For Yvette Conyers, D.N.P., M.S., RN, FNP-C, CTN-B, CFCN, full-time clinical faculty for B.S.N. program, nursing not only provides her an avenue to improve the lives of others but to cultivate community through the world of medicine. For almost a decade, Conyers has worked vigorously to ensure the equitable treatment of patients and she has no plans of stopping any time soon.
As a well-respected educator who is an active and committed leader on race, diversity, and inclusion issues, she played an instrumental role in launching the Rochester chapter of the National Black Nurses Association. The association aims to create additional opportunities for students and licensed nurses from various backgrounds to come together for a common goal: to impact the community of color and address health care disparities.
Professionally, she has worked as a nurse and nurse practitioner for several community organizations, including Jordan Health Center, Hillside Family of Agencies, and Highland Hospital. She previously served as nursing director for Home Care of Rochester (HCR) African American Initiative, where she became a certified transcultural nurse.
In recognition of her leadership and community work, Dr. Conyers was a 2020 and 2021 Rochester Business Journal Power 100 Honoree, 2020 Greater NYC Black Nurse Association Educator of the Year Honoree, 2020 Forty Under 40 Rochester Business Journal Honoree, 2020 National Black Nurses Association 2020 Under 40 Award Honoree and a 2019 Health Care Achievement Award from the Rochester Business Journal.
Before joining GW Nursing, Conyers held roles as an assistant professor of nursing at St. John Fisher Wegmans School of Nursing and as co-director of the accelerated bachelor's in nursing program at the University of Rochester School of Nursing. As co-director, she helped shape academic programs that consistently attracted far more underrepresented students than the national average. Her work focused primarily on reviewing curriculum centering around providing culturally sensitive care for all patients, regardless of their background, income, religion, age, and sexual orientation, an area of the field which has guided much of Conyers’ work and the way she approaches her patients’ care.
Her decision to join GW Nursing was one made with extreme intention. She states, “It felt right for me and many times in life you have to go with that feeling.” She hopes to use her time at GW Nursing as a platform to “become more involved in health policy” while also obtaining her certification as a nurse educator (CNE).