In Memoriam - JoAnn Trybulski

The School of Nursing and Health Studies is saddened to inform the community of the recent passing of JoAnn Trybulski, Ph.D., RN, ANP-BC, DPNAP.
In Memoriam - JoAnn Trybulski

Innovative nurse practitioner and educator JoAnn Trybulski, Ph.D., RN, ANP-BC, DPNAP, who advanced the Doctor of Nursing Practice program from an idea to a national model as an associate dean at the University of Miami School of Nursing and Health Studies, passed away Friday, June 29.  

“Dr. Trybulski was a pioneer, a creative visionary and a mentor to so many, both at the SONHS and across our communities,” said Mary Hooshmand, Ph.D., MS, RN, associate dean of the DNP program, who worked with Trybulski from 2010 to 2013. “She was a kind, extremely caring, and compassionate colleague, role model and friend. Though her legacy lives on at the SONHS, we will miss her greatly and extend our deepest condolences to her family.” 

In 2002, Trybulski followed her daughter, who had enrolled at UM, to Miami from Massachusetts, joining the faculty of the School of Nursing and Health Studies. As an assistant professor, she revised the Adult Nurse Practitioner curriculum and instituted case-based teaching. Later, she became an associate dean, inspiring the faculty to create a dynamic master’s degree curriculum that in 2007 tripled applications and doubled enrollment. She also designed and launched the School’s DNP Program, which served as a national educational model. Nearly a decade later, the program boasts over 256 graduates, many of whom are now leaders in nursing throughout the community and country. 

In 2008, Trybulski was named a Distinguished Practitioner of the National Academy of Practice in Nursing. She left the SONHS in 2013 to join the leadership team at the University of Miami Hospital (now UHealth Tower) as chief nursing officer. She took the position over for David Zambrana, Ph.D., DNP, MBA, RN, who had been serving dually as chief operating officer and CNO. At the time of Trybulski’s appointment, Zambrana, once her student, noted the wealth of expertise and keen focus on advance practice nursing she would bring to the hospital. 

Born in Kingston, New York, Trybulski earned a biology degree from Fordham University, then pursued her Associate of Applied Science in Nursing from the University of the State of New York. In her first nursing job in the emergency department of Amesbury Hospital in Massachusetts, she helped create care and communication protocols that the State Office of Emergency Medical Services recognized with an award for prehospital/emergency department coordinated care. 

A member of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing, Trybulski earned her Master of Science in Nursing and certification as an Adult Primary Care Nurse Practitioner from Simmons College in 1982, soon rolling out Salem Hospital’s nurse practitioner managed employee health clinic, which became a model for the institution’s worksite health initiative. She earned her Ph.D. in nursing on a fellowship from Boston College. With three co-editors, she created “Primary Care: A Collaborative Practice” the first primary care textbook written by both physicians and nurse practitioners, which won two Book of the Year awards from the American Journal of Nursing.  

Upon her appointment to the Florida Board of Nursing in 2013, Trybulski said, “It’s such an exciting time for the nursing profession, and the opportunity to contribute to developments that will help shape the future of healthcare is amazing.” In her nearly 40-year career, Trybulski made innovative strides to advance professional nursing practice and standards while improving patient care and safety. She had recently retired to the Orlando area with her husband of 43 years, Ed Trybulski. She is survived by him, daughter, Sarah Trybulski Fedor, who is a 2006 alumna of the University of Miami, and three brothers. 

Mass was held July 2 in Mount Dora, FL. A memorial service will take place in Kingston at a later date to be announced.