Long-time leader goes back to school for DNP

Sarah Wall had already been leading nurse practitioners and physician assistants for years when she decided to earn her Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) in Nursing Leadership and Administration from Cizik School of Nursing at UTHealth Houston.

“I’m a person who likes a challenge,” said Wall, DNP, MBA, AGACNP-BC, who joined the Marines after high school because she heard it was the most difficult branch of the military. She is now director of advanced practice and nursing services for UTHealth Houston Neurosciences and director of operations for the Novel Treatments for Acute Brain Injury Institute.

Her mother moved the family from Ireland to the Bronx when Wall was a child to answer the call from New York City hospitals recruiting Irish nurses. Impressed by the stability and opportunity of her mom’s career, Wall earned her Associate Degree in Nursing in San Diego, where she mustered out of the service as a fighter jet mechanic and met her husband, Clayton, a helicopter pilot. She later earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Phoenix and her Master of Science in Nursing on the adult/gerontology acute care nurse practitioner (AGACNP) track from Vanderbilt University.

The couple eventually moved to Houston, where he flew for LifeFlight and she worked as an AGACNP at UTHealth Houston. Clayton fell ill and was treated for cancer, and after his recovery, the pair decided to explore different parts of the country before settling down to start a family. She worked at Virgina Mason Franciscan Health, the University of Maryland Medical Center, and the University of Washington before being recruited back to UTHealth Houston in 2019 to lead advanced practice providers (APPs) for UT Physicians’ neuroscience ICU team.

Today, Wall directs a team of 75 APPs who work at seven UT Physicians clinic locations and four hospitals in the Memorial Hermann Health System. Participating in business-focused meetings prompted Wall to go back to school to earn her Master of Business Administration from Texas A&M.

“I felt that the decisions for the APPs in my department were largely being made by people on the administrative/business side of things,” she said. “I decided to become one of them to better influence decisions that affect APPs.”

Similarly, she felt the need to earn her DNP to more effectively lead the DNP-prepared nurse practitioners she supervised.

“When I did it, I realized how much I didn’t know,” Wall said. “I think it was probably the best thing I’ve ever done.”

Her husband questioned her sanity when she decided to go back to school – yet again – with a demanding full-time job and a year-old son. However, her work on the DNP leadership track aligned well with the work she was already doing for her paying job.

“If you are already in a leadership position and don’t think you need a DNP, my advice would be that you’re probably making things harder than they need to be in your day-to-day job,” Wall said. “Every time I had an idea to do something, I reinvented the wheel because I didn’t know about all of the supports and resources that are out there in the world.”

For her final quality improvement project and in her job, she focused on transition to practice for APPs. She has implemented a six-month, standardized program that has improved retention and satisfaction among APPs and physicians alike.

Wall’s work in this area applies not only to recently minted NPs and PAs but to new graduates who have not yet taken certification exams. Her team piloted a graduate APP program beginning in June 2025 that offers promising students a path from preceptorship to employment while they transition to practice and study for their tests. The first participant successfully finished in January, five more are working through the six-month program now, and she expects another couple of recent graduates to begin in June.

Of course, it all starts with precepting, which Wall values much more than just giving back to the profession or checking off required hours to meet certification requirements.

“If we want to elevate our profession, we have to elevate our students,” she said. “We have to take these students and teach them what’s important and why it matters.”

In September 2025, Wall was named a fellow of Advanced Practice Providers, Inc., and completed her DNP program in December. She looks forward to walking across the stage at the May 13 commencement ceremony and celebrating with classmates and faculty.

“I didn’t expect to gain my own cheering crew,” she said, referring to the support and collaboration invitations she has received from faculty since graduating. “That is something that really separates Cizik from other schools. The faculty really is invested in the success of the students. They’re lifting you up even after you’re gone.”