Summary
Dr. Molly Kokenge is an Associate Professor and the inaugural Associate Dean for Strategic Partnerships and Practice at the University of Nevada, Reno's Orvis School of Nursing (OSN). In this role, she leads strategic initiatives that strengthen academic, clinical and community partnerships in support of OSN's missions in education, research and practice, while advancing nurse-led models of care, workforce development and health equity.
Dr. Kokenge oversees the OSN Faculty Practice Plan, a mission-driven enterprise focused on faculty-led clinical care, community engagement and systems-level practice initiatives designed to expand access to care. She also serves as Principal Investigator of StreetReach-Mobile Health in Action, a nurse-led mobile health initiative developed through cross-sector partnerships to improve access to healthcare for underserved communities. Her work focuses on developing innovative partnerships and practice models that improve health outcomes, strengthen the healthcare workforce and expand access to care. She teaches across undergraduate and graduate programs and specializes in leadership, emergency nursing and critical care.
Research interests
Academic-practice partnerships; community-engaged and practice-based scholarship; cross-sector partnership development; mobile health and community-based care; healthcare workforce innovation; health inequities; systems science; health policy; medication adherence and health behavior engagement; hypertension and cardiovascular health.
Courses taught
- NURS 318: Nursing Care of Individual: Practice
- NURS 346: Nursing Care of the Individual II
- NURS 346: Nursing Care Individual & Family; Open Lab Coordinator
- NURS 441: Nursing Management & Leadership
- NURS 445: Advanced Leadership and Management for Professional Nursing
- NURS 454L: Human Care Nursing II Open Lab; Clinical Lab Coordinator
- NURS 454: Human Care Nursing II: Practice; Clinical Faculty
- NURS 454: Human Care Nursing II; Clinical Coordinator
- NURS 454L: Nursing Care of the Individual III: Laboratory; Course Coordinator
- NURS 454: Nursing Care of the Individual III: Practicum; Clinical Coordinator
- NURS 746: Evidence-Based Practice Management of Clinical Outcomes
- NURS 765: Executive/Advanced Practice DNP Residency; Mentor
- NURS 783: Simulation in Nursing Education; Preceptor
- NURS 788: DNP Project
- NURS 794.1001, 100.2: Graduate Nursing Scholarship
Grant activities
Principal Investigator: Molly C. Kokenge
Co-Principal Investigator: Jane Fox
Project Title: StreetReach-Mobile Health in Action
Funder: Washoe Opioid Abatement and Recovery Fund
Award Amount: $499,812.60
Project Period: July 1, 2026-June 30, 2028
Status: Funded
Publications
- Kokenge, M. C., Nicosia, S., Abbott-Anderson, K., McCamey, D., NeSmith, B., & Yingling, C. (2025). Transforming healthcare through human-centered care. In The AACN/AONL Academic-Practice Partnership Playbook: From Shared Vision to Action (pp. 11-24). American Association of Colleges of Nursing & American Organization for Nursing Leadership.
- Kokenge, M. C., Ruppar, T. M., Julion, W., Emezue, C. N., Lynch, E., & Ellis, R. B. (2025). Understanding System-Level Experiences Impacting Black Americans' Adherence to Antihypertensive Medication. Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities, 10.1007/s40615-025-02508-4. Advance online publication.
- Kokenge, M. C., & Ruppar, T. M. (2024). Factors Influencing Antihypertensive Medication Adherence Among Historically Underrepresented Adults: A Meta-analysis. The Journal of cardiovascular nursing, 10.1097/JCN.0000000000001077. Advance online publication.
- Kokenge, M. C., Ruppar, T. M., & Buchholz, S. (2022). Physical Activity Interventions Among American Indian and Alaska Native Persons: A Systematic Review. American journal of health promotion : AJHP, 36(8), 1350–1370.
- Davisson, M., & Sedlak, S. K. (2018). A morbidly obese patient with shortness of breath. Journal of Emergency Nursing, 44 (2), 186-187.
Education
- Ph.D., Nursing Science, Rush University
- MSN, Emphasis in Clinical Nurse Leadership, Rush University
- B.S., Health Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz
Professional Certifications
- Clinical Nurse Leader
- Certified Emergency Nurse