Linda Ohler, MSN, RN, CCTC, FAAN, FAST

With 30 years’ experience in transplantation, Linda Ohler served as a clinical transplant coordinator in heart and lung transplantation and as a VAD coordinator for 12 years at Inova Fairfax Hospital in Fairfax, VA and Temple University in Philadelphia. She also served as a clinical nurse specialist and nurse manager in kidney, pancreas and islet cell transplantation at the National Institutes of Health (NIDDK) and later as a program manager for the Heart Transplant Program at Virginia Commonwealth University.  She served as a Director of Quality at Georgetown University for 4 years and later served as a Quality Consultant for Transplant programs on probation with CMS.  She is currently at New York University Transplant Institute as the Associate Director of Quality, Regulatory and Education.

Linda has served on the Board of Directors for the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation and for the Washington Regional Transplant Community. She has served on four UNOS committees including Operations and Safety Committee.  In 2001, Linda was inducted as a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing.  In 2012, she received the American Society of Transplantation’s Clinician of Distinction Award at ATC in Boston and in 2017, she was selected to be a Fellow of the American Society of Transplantation in Chicago. Linda has been involved in AST committees since 2004 with service on the Education, Website and Communication Committees.  From 2012-2015 Linda serve as Co-editor of the AST Electronic Newsletter.  From 2012-2016 Linda served on the ATC planning committee. In 2014, Linda and seven colleagues founded the Transplant Quality Institute which is an educational program held annually.  Linda also established the Transplant Quality List Serve in 2014 with a colleague from the University of Minnesota.

International Presentations:

Linda has lectured on transplant related topics in 10 countries including Japan, Russia, Hungary, India, England, Italy, Canada, Spain, Brazil and Australia.

Publications

She has co-edited/written four books on transplantation for nurses including the Core Curriculum for Transplant Nursing and Transplantation Nursing Secrets.    She has published on transplant related articles in peer-reviewed journals including AJT and Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation. Linda served as Editor in Chief of Progress in Transplantation for 23 years.   Between 2008 and 2020, Linda interviewed 30 pioneers in transplantation and published them in a series called Courage and Character, Leaders and Legends. She has served as a co-author on two consensus papers for AST including the current paper on Antimicrobial Stewardship.