Karen Schwab, PhD, APRN, CPNP-PC, PMHS
Assistant Professor/Clinical
As full-time faculty, Dr. Schwab teaches graduate and undergraduate students while overseeing a busy pediatric practice on the UT campus. Dr. Schwab was instrumental in obtaining the designation of Foster Care Center of Excellence for this practice. She is now expanding health care services for children in foster care to an off-campus clinic allowing on-site care at the city's children's shelter. Her responsibilities for both clinics include overseeing day-to-day operations, hiring and supervision of clinic staff, coordination of provider services, writing policy and procedures, and providing direct patient care in her nurse practitioner role. Dr. Schwab continues to collaborate with community leaders in the child welfare field to remove barriers to and gaps in care for this underserved population. It is anticipated services will be further expanded to multiple off-campus locations. Dr. Schwab created and continues to serve as advisor to a core of volunteers in the pediatric clinic. The volunteers are undergraduate nursing students who in return for their time receive hands-on experience in pediatric care. They also contribute to patient and parent education as well as quality improvement projects.
-
Professional Background
Education
- 2017 - Doctor of Philosophy - Organizational Leadership - The University of the Incarnate Word
- 2001 - Master of Science in Nursing - Pediatric Nurse Practitioner - UT Health San Antonio, School of Nursing
- 1991 - Bachelor of Science in Nursing - Nursing - UT Health San Antonio, School of Nursing
Highlights
Licensures and Certifications
- Advance Practice Registered Nurse
- Registered Nurse
- Primary Care Pediatric Mental Health Specialist
- Pediatric Primary Care
Honors and Awards
- 2021, Dean’s Candidate for AACN Elevating Leaders in Academic Nursing (ELAN) program
- 2020, Dean’s selection for 1 of 2 SON’s representatives at city wide Compassion Institute Training (CIT) at San Antonio’s Mayor’s invitation.
- 2019, Foster Care Center of Excellence
Appointments
- 2018 - present - Assistant Professor/Clinical - UT Health San Antonio, School of Nursing
- 2013 - 2018 - Clinical Assistant Professor - UT Health San Antonio School of Nursing
-
Instruction & Training
- 2020 - 2021, NURS 6320 Theoretical Foundations for Advanced Nursing Practice, UT Health San Antonio School of Nursing
- 2020 - 2021, NURS 6144 Special Population Pharm: Applied Pediatric Pharm, UT Health San Antonio School of Nursing
- 2020 - 2021, NURS 3270 Professional Socialization II, UT Health San Antonio School of Nursing
- 2020 - 2021, NURS 4211 Child and Family Health: Clinical Application, UT Health San Antonio School of Nursing
- 2019 - 2020 , NURS 6320 Theoretical Foundations for Advanced Nursing Practice, UT Health San Antonio School of Nursing
- 2019 - 2020, NURS 3270 Professional Socialization II, UT Health San Antonio School of Nursing
- 2019 - 2020, NURS 4211 Child and Family Health: Clinical Application, UT Health San Antonio School of Nursing
- 2019 - 2020, NURS 4533 PEDS: Disease Management III: Cl Application, UT Health San Antonio School of Nursing
- 2018 - 2019, NURS 4211 Child and Family Health: Clinical Application, UT Health San Antonio School of Nursing
- 2018 - 2019, NURS 4533 PEDS: Disease Management III: Cl Application, UT Health San Antonio School of Nursing
- 2018 - 2019, NURS 5306 Theoretical Foundations for Advanced Nursing Practice, UT Health San Antonio School of Nursing
-
Research & Grants
Grants
Pending Submissions:
- 2021, HRSA’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB). Dollars: Phase I $10,000. Title – Promoting Well Child Visits and Vaccinations in Primary Care. Role – PI
Submitted and Not Funded:
- 2020, Baptist Health Foundation of San Antonio Scientific Research Benefiting the Greater San Antonio Area. Dollars: $500,000. Title – Early Intervention in Pediatric Mental Health. Role - PI
- 2019, HRSA Title – APRN Residency Program. Role – Sub-investigator
-
Service
School
Student Mentees/Trainees
- 2021, Melissa Chan – NP Clinical preceptor, secondary
- 2021, Ariana Pena – NP Clinical preceptor, secondary
- 2021, Jacqueline Villarreal-Leal – NP Clinical preceptor, primary
- 2020, Kristin Roeseler – NP Clinical preceptor, primary
- 2020, Victoria Johnson – NP Clinical preceptor, primary
- 2020, Hillary Turner – NP Clinical preceptor, secondary
- 2019, Moxy Perez Coley – NP Clinical preceptor, substitute
- 2019, Grace Flores – NP Clinical preceptor, primary
- 2019-2020, LaMonica May – NP Doctoral Student Project Manager
Institutional
- 2020, Creation of Pediatric Volunteer Core. Designed for undergraduate nursing students interested pursuing a career in pediatrics. Students are mentored by advanced practice registered nurses and provided hands-on experience in a pediatric primary care clinic while earning volunteer hours toward a clinical service distinction awarded at graduation. Supplemental curriculum provided to students who are encouraged to take a leadership role in patient care, clinical operations, and quality improvement projects. This group is now a recognized student organization. Role – Founder/Faculty Advisor
- 2020 – Present, Faculty Assembly Officer- Secretary
- 2020 – Present, Participant in Kira Interviews for graduate applicants
- 2019 – Present, Committee on Graduate Studies (COGS) member
- 2019 – Present, Institutional Review Board member
- 2019 – 2020, Participant in White Coat Ceremonies – cloaking
- 2018 – Present, Campus Wellness Committee member
- 2018 – Present, DNP Work Group member
- 2018 – Present, Preceptor to UT PNP and FNP students @ Wellness 360 Pediatrics.
Service to the Profession
- 2018 – Present, Pediatric Nursing Certification Board (PNCB). Volunteer item writing for national recertification modules.
- 2018 – Present, Returning invited speaker UTSA Alpha Epsilon Delta, Honor Society for future health professionals.
- 2018 – 2019, Returning Panel member, Advance Practice RN Panel speaker
- 2003 – 2017, Preceptor to pediatric and family nurse practitioner students attending wide variety of graduate schools across the United States. Provided > 800 hours per year of volunteer preceptor hours to > 33 graduate students through the years.
Professional Affiliations
- 2020 - Present, Texas Nurse Practitioners (TNP)
- 2018 – Present, American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP)
- 2001 – Present, South Texas Alamo Chapter of NAPNAP (charter member)
- 2000 – Present, NAPNAP
- 1991 – Present, Sigma Theta Tau International Society
Community Service
- 2021, Center for Young Minds. Steering Committee member. Will assume additional role as co-chair for subcommittee addressing health care initiatives.
- SJRC Covid-19 Vaccine Mobile Unit Outreach. Coordinating an off-campus Covid-19 vaccination clinic for a community partner.
- 2020, Center for Young Minds. Invited member serving as part of this city-wide initiative tasked to identify upstream strategies aiming to reach every child with behavioral health concerns as early as possible with effective and responsive services.
- San Antonio Compassion Institute Fellow. Serving in the UT Health Cohort.
- Volunteer Covid-19 Vaccine administration. Participated in administering Covid-19 vaccine, overseeing undergraduate students administering vaccine, and inputting patient data.
- Mobile Unit Outreach. Providing Texas Health Steps Well Exams to children in the community. Served in dual role as faculty member and PNP.
-
Publications
- Sickora, C., Salt, R. J., Page, T. L., Lee, W., Cantu, A. G., Lee, M., Schwab, K. W., Martinez, M. L., & Byrd, D. Evolution of experiential learning opportunities for nursing students after natural disaster. Journal of Nursing Education 2020 Jan;59(1):30-33.
- Salt R, Sickora C, Page D, Martinez M, Cantu A, Schwab K, Lee W. “We Didn’t Forget”: Utilizing a Community-Nurse Partnership to Promote Health in Rockport Texas After Hurricane Harvey Public Health Nursing 2020 Jan
- Schwab, K.W. Teaching and Learning Courageous Followership: An Action Research Study. Anticipated dissertation publication. Final submission. 2017.
- Schwab, K.W. (2013) Individualism-collectivism and power distance cultural dimensions: How each influence parental disciplinary methods Journal of International Education and leadership, 3(3) http://www.jielusa.org/; ISSN: 2161-7252; Volume 3, Issue 3
Presentations
- 2021, Contextual Factors Influencing Collaboration: Using a Followership Lens. Creating Healthy Work Environments Conference 2021. Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing. (Oral presentation).
- 2020, Elevating Collaboration in Pediatric Primary Healthcare: Foster Care Centers of Excellence. TCOM National Conference 2020. (Oral presentation).
- 2020, Pediatric Advance Health Assessment. UT Health SON. (Guest lecturer for graduate students).
- 2020, Foster Care Center of Excellence in Primary Care Pediatrics. TNP Conference 2020. (Poster presentation).
- 2020, The Well Child Visit in Pediatric Primary Care. UT Health SON. (Guest lecturer for undergraduate students).
- 2020, Common Pediatric Disorders of the Eye. UT Health SON. (Guest lecturer for graduate students).
- 2020, Advanced Practice Registered Nurse. UTSA Alpha Epsilon Delta, Health Professions Honor Society. UTSA. (Oral presentation).
- 2020, The Well Child Visit in Pediatric Primary Care. UT Health SON. (Guest lecturer for undergraduate students).
- 2020, Pediatric Advance Health Assessment. UT Health SON. (Guest lecturer for graduate students).
- 2019, Pediatric Advance Health Assessment. UT Health SON. (Guest lecturer for graduate students).
- 2019, Common Pediatric Disorders of the Eye. UT Health SON. (Guest lecturer for graduate students).
- 2019, The Well Child Visit in Pediatric Primary Care. UT Health SON. (Guest lecturer for undergraduate students).
- 2018, Followership: A New Path to Student Engagement, University of Kentucky 14th Annual Faculty Workshop, Nursing, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY (Oral presentation).
- 2018, Contextual Factors Influencing Collaboration: Using A Followership Lens, Science of Team Science 2018 Conference, Multi-Disciplinary, Science of Team Science, Galveston, TX (Oral Presentation).
-
Clinical
Wellness 360 Pediatrics – Foster Care Center of Excellence: Providers at Wellness 360 serve children, ages newborn to adolescent, living in Bexar and surrounding counties. A trauma informed approach to primary care is used by the healthcare team whose aim is to create a medical home for patients. Designated 1 of 7 Foster Care Centers of Excellence in Texas, multi-disciplinary health care is provided for the center’s growing population of children and adolescents receiving foster care services. (Role – lead PNP. 24- 32 hours weekly).
Board Certifications
- Pediatric Nursing Certification Board