Meet Brittany Christiansen, DNP, APRN, CPNP-PC/AC, FNP-C, AE-C, CNE, Clinical Assistant Professor and Director of the Acute Care Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Program at The University of Texas at Austin School of Nursing. Dr. Christiansen (MSN ’11, DNP ’17) was selected for the 2020 Novice Faculty Excellence in Clinical Teaching Award by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing and received the 2020 Dean’s Excellence Award for Service at The UT Austin School of Nursing.
After 18-months of planning, Dr. Christiansen was pleased to welcome the inaugural cohort of our Acute Care Pediatric Nurse Practitioner program in the Spring 2021 semester. The students in this cohort have a wealth of pediatric experience and some are already working in an advanced practice role. Dr. Christiansen structured this program to give students the preparation and training needed to sit for the national Acute Care Pediatric Nurse Practitioner (ACPNP) certification exam. With the ACPNP certification, our graduates will be able to work as advanced practice providers in clinical sites caring for acute and critically ill children.
During their first semester, the ACPNP students have been learning diagnostic techniques and advanced invasive skills. Dr. Christiansen oversees these skills practice in partnership with the Ascension Seton Clinical Education Center. Since the program was launched, ACPNP students have been trained to perform suturing, abscess incision and drainage, central and venous line placements, lumbar puncture, thoracentesis and chest tube placement. The Clinical Education Center has generously dedicated time, space and necessary equipment for our students to practice these skills and will allow for our students to gain clinical experiences in pediatric specialties at Dell Children’s Medical Center with the first clinical rotation starting this summer.
We honor Dr. Brittany Christiansen for her dedication to providing innovative nurse education and for sharing her knowledge to help shape our new Acute Care Pediatric Nurse Practitioner program.