Candace Beddard, DNP, AGNP-C

Dr. Candace Beddard earned her associate degree in nursing from Pitt Community College in 2004 before earning both her Master of Science in Nursing as an Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner and a Graduate Certificate in Nursing Education from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2019. She returned to UNC-Chapel Hill to earn her Doctor of Nursing Practice in 2024 and later completed a graduate certificate in Healthcare Emergency and Disaster Management from East Carolina University in 2026.

Dr. Beddard began her nursing career in acute care, with much of her experience in the cardiac intensive care unit and as a member of a Rapid Response Team. Caring for patients with advanced and complex disease processes sparked her interest in intervening earlier in the course of illness and ultimately led her to primary care. As an Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner, she has practiced extensively in federally qualified health centers serving rural and underserved communities in eastern North Carolina, caring for adults and older adults with complex health needs. She continues to maintain an active clinical practice at UNC Health Lenoir, providing acute care and chronic disease management in an employee health clinic.

Dr. Beddard began as an adjunct instructor at the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Nursing in 2021 after discovering a passion for teaching through precepting nurse practitioner students. She joined the faculty full-time in 2026 and currently teaches graduate nursing courses in primary care, care of older adults, advanced health assessment, and diagnostic reasoning. In 2026, she also began serving as a Graduate Academic Coach, supporting graduate nursing students in developing strategies for academic success. Her professional interests include primary care, care of older adults, rural and underserved healthcare, graduate nursing education, and student success.

Dr. Beddard’s doctoral work focused on a quality improvement initiative to increase BMI screening and appropriate follow-up in a rural federally qualified health center. She is a member of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, the North Carolina Nurses Association, and Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing and serves on the North Carolina Nurses Association Nurse Practitioner Spring Symposium Planning Committee.