Sharron Forest, DNP, NNP-BC

Dr. Sharon Forest holds the Will Bivins Singleton Professorship in Pediatric Nursing and is a professor and director of the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program in the School of Nursing at The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB).  She earned her DNP and Master of Science in Nursing degrees at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. She also holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from McNeese State University and a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Louisiana State University. With over 32 years of experience in neonatal critical care nursing, she has spent 26 of those years as a neonatal nurse practitioner. Dr. Forest teaches in the DNP program at UTMB and focuses her research and grant activities on education and healthcare improvement. Her grant-funded projects include initiatives to address tobacco prevention among adolescents and maternal smokers, prepare nurse practitioner students to care for underserved populations, and enhance collaboration between DNP and PhD programs. Other teaching innovations include academic partnerships for DNP students to lead hospital quality improvement project teams and an immersion program to provide students with hands-on learning opportunities and the chance to apply their knowledge in real-world situations. Dr. Forest’s recognitions include receiving the 2018 American Association of Colleges of Nurses Novice Faculty Award, the Outstanding DNP Faculty Award in 2016-2021, and 2021 Good Samaritan Foundation Excellence in Nursing Gold Medal Award.