Dannette Mitchell

Dannette A. Mitchell, MSN, APRN, ACNS-BC, CCRN, FCNS, serves a three-year term as a director on the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) Board of Directors from July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2027. She also serves a concurrent one-year term on the AACN Certification Corporation board.

Mitchell is a clinical nurse specialist (CNS) who focuses on improving patient outcomes by advancing nursing practice at ChristianaCare, Newark, Delaware.

Through new ways of working, surveillance and evidence-based nursing care, Mitchell and her team have successfully reduced all harm measures in their units and share best practices with others in the system. She created a mentorship cohort for clinical nurses in the hospital, and also mentors CNSs and CNS students, which helps her stay passionate about her career. In addition, she leads the code blue committee for the system and helped develop the code blue documentation application CritiTrac, for which she and others hold a patent.

A Circle of Excellence recipient, Mitchell has chaired the NTI Program Planning Committee and served on the AACN – AACN Certification Corporation Nominating Committee. She reviewed the ECCO module and co-authored the prone positioning procedure in “AACN Procedure Manual for Progressive and Critical Care,” 8th ed. She is an active member and a past president of AACN’s Diamond State Chapter.

Mitchell is a member of the National Association of Clinical Nurse Specialists. As a member of the Society of Critical Care Medicine, she recently served on the Neuromuscular Blocking Agent Guideline Panel, which published the latest guidelines in early 2026.

She earned a Master of Science in Nursing at University of Delaware in Newark and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing at West Chester University in West Chester, Pennsylvania.

Mitchell enjoys spending time with family and friends, walking outdoors, trying new things and watching action movies. She notes that “downtime is important as we must pour into ourselves to be available to others.”