Empowering Practice: Elevating the Nurse’s Role in the Optimization of Enteral Nutrition for Improved Outcomes

Ainsley M Malone, MS, RDN, LD, CNSC, FAND, FASPEN

Clinical Practice Specialist
American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition
Columbus, OH, USA

Ainsley M. Malone, MS, RDN, LD, CNSC, FAND, FASPEN serves as a Clinical Practice Specialist for the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN) where she works to support clinical practice activities for the organization. She retired in 2023 from her 40-year career as a nutrition support dietitian within the Mt. Carmel Health System in Columbus where she assisted in the management of patients requiring enteral and parenteral nutrition.

Ainsley is a global and national leader in malnutrition related activities having served as an author of the 2012 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics/ASPEN Malnutrition Consensus Characteristics and the 2018 Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM) consensus characteristics. She is currently serving as Co-Lead of the GLIM Implementation and Dissemination working group. Over her longstanding career, Ainsley has served in many nutrition leadership capacities including President of ASPEN 2013-14 and on the Board of Directors for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics where she currently serves as Speaker of the House of Delegates.

Beth Quatrara, DNP, RN, CMSRN, ACNS-BC

Assistant Professor
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Program Director
Department of Acute and Specialty Care
University of Virginia, School of Nursing
Charlottesville, VA, USA

Dr Beth A. Quatrara is an assistant professor and Doctor of Nursing practice (DNP) program director in the School of Nursing, Department of Acute and Specialty Care, at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. As an assistant professor in the Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) and DNP programs, her teaching focuses on creating a learning environment where adult learners are engaged as active partners to facilitate lifelong learning. Her clinical research focuses on interprofessional teams and clinical practice as they relate to improvements in systems and patient outcomes. Her clinical practice focuses on improving the care of patients across the continuum of care and introducing hemorrhage control practices within the community setting. 

Dr Quatrara earned her MSN and DNP from the University of Virginia, School of Nursing, Charlottesville. She is board certified both as a medical surgical registered nurse (RN) and as a clinical nurse specialist, and she holds a certificate of training in adult malnutrition. She has a rich clinical background in acute and progressive care. She is a seasoned clinician with a practice portfolio that includes trauma, general surgery, surgical oncology, and digestive health. 

Dr Quatrara is the clinical representative to the Academy of Medical Surgical Nursing. She is also actively involved in efforts to advance interprofessional education and practice through grant-funded activities. Additionally, she has been published in a variety of journals on a myriad of clinical topics and has written chapters for a number of widely used advanced practice nursing textbooks. Dr Quatrara is a national-level speaker on topics including digestive health, nutrition, clinical research, and interprofessional education.