Brianna Acosta '10, '18

On Saturday May 19, 2018, Brianna became the first student in Saint Mary’s history to earn a doctoral degree in nursing practice. She graduated from Saint Mary’s with a bachelor’s degree in nursing in 2010, and then earned a doctor of nursing practice (DNP) degree in 2018. “After obtaining my master’s degree, I was elated to discover that Saint Mary's was starting a DNP program. There was no question I was going home to finish my doctorate,” she said.
 

Brianna is currently employed as a Board Certified Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner at Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas. In February, Brianna presented her final project “Increasing HPV Vaccines in Young Women” at the Sigma Theta Tau conference in New Orleans, and in March, at the Midwest Nursing Research Society’s annual conference. Her future plans include using the experiences from the DNP program to improve the quality of healthcare provided to patients in the Dallas area, and she is also interested in teaching adolescents about healthy lifestyles, nutrition, and physical fitness. “The DNP expanded my knowledge and expertise in the nursing industry, and I see the role of the DNP as fusing nursing with business. We are entrepreneurs in our own right,” Brianna said.