Nurses: Communications, Conflict, and Connecting with your
Patients and Colleagues

Dr. Shephard is Affiliate Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of South Florida College of Medicine in Tampa, Florida. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of California, Berkeley, attended medical school at the University of California, San Francisco, and completed his Ob-Gyn residency at the University of Miami, Florida.

A former McCain Fellow at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and principal author of “The Complete Guide to Women's Health,” Dr. Shephard is a frequent speaker and writer on women's health issues. A previous president of the Hillsborough County Medical Association, he currently serves as president of the HCMA Foundation. Dr. Shephard serves on HMO medical advisory boards for Wellcare and AVMed health plans and as a medical case reviewer for both the Health Resources and Services Administration and the Agency for Health Care Administration, Florida. A 2009 selectee of the Marquis' Who's Who in Medicine and Healthcare, he received the Albert N. Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018.

Dr. Evans has been a family physician and educator for forty years. After six years in a rural family practice in South Carolina, he moved to Florida to begin teaching , as an Associate Director in the Florida Hospital Family Practice Program in Orlando. He also was picked as the team physician for the Orlando Magic. In 1994 he accepted a position of Director of the Bayfront Medical Center's Family Practice Program in St. Petersburg. In 2001 he returned to private practice and also became the Director of Medical Education at St. Anthony's Hospital. He was also asked to be a physician for the Tampa Bay Rays Team, and these positions continued for the next 20 years. He is board certified in Family Medicine, Sports Medicine, Geriatric Medicine, and Palliative Care.
Originally from San Clemente, California, Dr. Evans attended Occidental College in LA, then St. Louis Medical School in Missouri, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude. His family practice residency was at University of Missouri, Columbia where he was a Chief Resident. Dr. Evans tries to play the guitar poorly, and loves water sports. He teaches extensively at the national FP meetings with a special interest in exercise testing.

Dr. Carnes began his career in patient care and medical education approximately 3 decades ago. He completed his Ph.D. at Indiana State University, and subsequently completed an internship at the Family Medicine Residency at Union Hospital in Terre Haute, Indiana. He was on the faculty of that residency until 1985, when he joined the faculty of the Family Medicine Residency at Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg, Florida, and the Department of Family Medicine at the University of South Florida. He was active in the Society of Teachers in Family Medicine, serving as the co-chairman for a national task force on behavioral sciences in family medicine residencies. He developed an interest in trauma, and served as the state coordinator for disaster mental health services in the state of Florida. 

He recently completed a 25 year teaching career with Bayfront Health System, where he was Director of Medical Education, and Chairman of the Institutional Research Review Committee.
During his tenure, he spoke nationally in the area of psychosocial aspects of geriatric care. 

Now in full-time private practice in St. Petersburg, Florida, Dr. Carnes devotes his time to geriatric patient care, and teaching family medicine residents. His clinical interests include the psychological aspects of trauma, behavioral medicine, and geriatrics. He is also a regular speaker for University at Sea.

 Tammie Lee Demler received her Doctor of Pharmacy, Master of Business Administration, and Bachelor of Science degrees at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo. 

Dr  Demler is a dually Board-Certified Specialist in both Psychiatric and Geriatric Pharmacy and is currently the Director of Pharmacy Services and Pharmacy residency training at the New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH) at the Buffalo Psychiatric Center. 

She holds numerous academic appointments, including Clinical Associate Professor for SUNY Buffalo School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Clinical Assistant Professor at SUNY School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry, D'Youville College School of Pharmacy, University of Florida School of Pharmacy, and Clinical Instructor for the Erie County Community College Pharmacy Technician Certification Program.

She  collaborates with both the National Association of the Boards of Pharmacy (NABP) and the Board of Pharmaceutical Specialties (BPS) to develop board examinations that establish the minimum competencies expected for new practitioners for practice in an ever changing clinical environment. Prior to embarking on her academic and institutional career, Dr. Demler's clinical practice focused on ambulatory care in community pharmacy.

Dr. Demler has authored and co-authored numerous original research articles and expert reviews for print media. She is a regular contributor to U.S. Pharmacist and reviewer for Pharmacist's Letter. 

Prior to launching Pharmacotherapeutics for Advanced Nursing Practice, Dr. Demler authored a chapter on insomnia in the American College of Clinical Pharmacy's (ACCP's) Ambulatory Care Self-Assessment. She also has provided expert pharmacotherapeutic consultation for other books such as the Side Effects of Drugs: Annual Volume 36 and Clinical Consult to Psychiatric Nursing for Advanced Practice . She has presented medication continuing education programs internationally and nationally, and is an Academic Educator for the New York State Medicaid Prescriber Education program sponsored by the New York Department of Health. 

Dr. Demler served as President of both the Pharmacists Society of the State of New York and the Pharmacists Association of Western New York. Dr. Demler is also a local media personality, hosting her own weekly TV talk show as well as a weekly community affairs radio segment. She has won a number of prestigious national, state, and local awards acknowledging both her professional and community-based contributions.