Patricia Burns, the former dean of the College of Nursing at the University of South Florida and the former chair of the nurse practitioner program at the School of Nursing of the University at Buffalo of the State University of New York System, died on September 21 in Tampa, Florida. She was 77 years old.
A native of Buffalo, Dr. Burns was a graduate of the city’s D’Youville College. After working as a nurse at the Erie County Medical Center from 1960 yo 1976, she went on to earn a master’s degree in nursing and a doctorate in medical sociology from the University at Buffalo.
While operating a private nurse practitioner practice, she taught at the University at Buffalo and directed the university’s nurse practitioner program. In 1997, she was named dean of the College of Nursing at the University of South Florida. She retired in 2010.