Assistant Professor/Clinical
Paula Christianson-Silva, DNP, FNP-BC, ANP-BC has been a primary care nurse practitioner and NP educator since 1989, working in Michigan, California, Arizona, and overseas. She has been a leader in professional organizations focused on health policy, was President of the Arizona Nurse Practitioner Council, and received the 2020 AANP Advocate State Award for Excellence, Arizona. Dr. Christianson-Silva was a clinical faculty member at University of California, Los Angeles and at the University of Arizona was Clinical Lead on a HRSA funded Interprofessional Collaborative Faculty Practice Program. In August 2019 she started her current position as Assistant Professor, Clinical at UT Health School of Nursing. She has been active in BSN-DNP Program curriculum and course development, on the SON Committee on International Programs, is Co-PI on two LINC Seed Grants, and is SON Bylaws Committee Chair.
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Student Mentees/Trainees, UT Health San Antonio School of Nursing
Professional Affiliations
Dr. Christianson-Silva has been a primary care nurse practitioner and nursing educator since 1989 in several US states and Germany. She currently teaches in the FNP Program and practices at the Wellness 360 Clinic. She has provided primary care in homeless and low-income health clinics. She is an advocate for expanded healthcare access. In Germany, Dr. Christianson-Silva was the School Nurse and Community Service Program Coordinator, Bavarian International School. She led projects involving Caritas Refugee Camp residents and organized a student trip to Zimbabwe. She was a UNICEF volunteer and a USA Consulate Roundtable Group member. At UCLA (University of California Los Angeles), Dr. Christianson-Silva worked with students in an Underserved Subspecialty and served as Faculty Advisor of Global Action In Nursing (GAIN). She precepted students at Cold Weather Shelter Clinics and the Union Rescue Mission nurse-managed health center. She led students on a medical service trip with “Floating Doctors,” serving Ngobe people on Panama’s remote islands. Dr. Christianson worked with STAND: The Haiti Project. She was responsible for the general medical clinic and provided clinical instruction to nursing and medical students. At UT Health, she organized a trip for FNP/PNP students to Haiti in 2020 (canceled due to COVID).
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