Melissa Kalensky is an Assistant Professor at Rush University. She completed her undergraduate degrees at Coe College, her Master of Science in Nursing at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and her Doctor of Nursing Practice at Vanderbilt University. She maintains an active clinical practice at Oak Street Health in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood.
Dr. Kalensky is a Family Nurse Practitioner and has practiced in primary care with patients of all ages. She is interested in improving care coordination, health policy, and the role of nurse practitioners in a value-based health system. Dr. Kalensky participated in the implementation of an innovative interdisciplinary model of care that assumes full clinical and financial responsibility for patients with the goal of improving patient outcomes: the first of its kind in the Midwest. This model of care has informed Dr. Kalensky’s work, which includes initiatives for nurse practitioner-led care teams, increased efficiencies in interdisciplinary care, and improvements in workflow training for nurses in primary care.
In addition, Dr. Kalensky is a certified psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner who works with various underserved populations. As a Certified Nurse Educator teaching in the FNP-DNP program at Rush University, she focuses on course work in physical assessment, clinical management, and precepts FNP-DNP students in her clinical practice.