Hem, Onc, SCT, PACT APRN Director
Boston Children's Hospital
Kat Woodard, MSN, APRN, CPNP-PC, is the Director of Pediatric Hematology, Oncology, Stem Cell Transplant, and Palliative Advanced Care Team Nursing Practitioners at Boston Children’s Hospital. She is passionate about advancing sustainable staffing models that balance high-quality patient care with APRN well-being and retention. Her leadership emphasizes healthy work environments, structured onboarding, mentorship, and professional development, with a particular focus on staffing systems and workforce development.
Kat began her nursing career after earning her BSN from Boston College in 2008 and completing the RN Residency Program at Seattle Children’s Hospital. She went on to work at Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) as a acute care float nurse, nursing supervisor, and later as a primary care and urgent care pediatric nurse practitioner. These experiences shaped her deep appreciation for the importance of team-based care, staff support, and continuity across diverse practice settings.
She completed her MSN at California State University, Long Beach in 2015 and is currently a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) candidate at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Her doctoral work centers on developing sustainable staffing models that provide specialized pediatric expertise while supporting role satisfaction, resilience, and long-term retention.
A strong advocate for new graduate and new-to-practice APRNs, Kat has helped to design and implement tiered skill acquisition and APRN immersion programs to strengthen onboarding, clinical fluency, and professional confidence. She believes intentional investment in APRN training and support leads to more engaged teams and ultimately better patient outcomes.
Outside of work, Kat lives on the North Shore with her husband, three daughters, and their family dog. She loves traveling, spending time at the beach, and running.