Meet Carol Delville, PhD, APRN, ACNS-BC, FCNSI, Clinical Associate Professor at the UT Austin School of Nursing. Dr. Delville “Bleeds Burnt Orange” having obtained her BSN, MSN and PhD degrees from The University of Texas at Austin School of Nursing. She is currently the advanced practice Program Director for our Adult Gerontology Clinical Nurse Specialist program.
Clinical Nurse Specialists have a unique role in nursing. Like nurse practitioners, they provide direct patient care however they focus on a specific population or problem as clinical experts. Students must graduate able to support nursing staff through staff education, quality improvement, research, while collaborating with an interprofessional team and even consult with their clinical expertise. This means students come to our program with a wide variety of clinical interests such as gerontology, cardiology, palliative care, etc. and each student needs an individualized clinical experience during the program to develop their expertise before graduation. As a result, Dr. Delville has created an extensive network of preceptors to support the students’ individual educational goals and interests. “As a former nursing student, I personally know the high expectations we hold for our graduates and it is an honor to teach these students.”
With over 40 years of clinical practice experience, she is inspired to support her students to lead. Dr. Delville’s research focuses on innovations in Advanced Practice Registered Nursing (APRN) education including integrating technology, interprofessional education and experiential learning. Her courses include Acute Care, Chronic Illness, and clinical practicums while providing over 5,000 precepted hours to CNS students. Dr. Delville’s teaching excellence has been recognized by the Good Samaritan’s Foundation, National Hartford Center of Gerontological Nursing Excellence, the American Health Council, and The University of Texas while her contributions to nursing were recognized by the National Clinical Nurse Specialist Association with her induction to the Clinical Nurse Specialist Fellow Institute in 2020.
“Hands-on practice grounds my teaching, provides me opportunities to improve the health of our patients and helps our graduates to maximize the quality of care that TEXAS Nurses provide them.”