Sharon Schaaf, PhD, DNP, RN, FNP, AGACNP, CNE

Associate Professor - Clinical Educator
University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States

Dr. Sharon Schaaf is an Associate Professor – Clinician Educator in the College of Nursing at the University of New Mexico (UNM). She brings over two decades of experience as a nurse practitioner specializing in cardiology, with a clinical background that spans critical care, trauma, and acute care settings.
Dr. Schaaf earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Wyoming (1994), her Master of Science in Nursing as a Family Nurse Practitioner from the University of Texas Pan American (2002), and holds post-master’s certifications in Cardiology (Loyola University Chicago, 2007) and Adult-Gerontology Acute Care (UNM, 2014). She completed her Doctor of Nursing Practice at Texas Woman’s University (2011) and earned a PhD in Organization, Information & Learning Sciences from UNM (2020), where her research focused on social network centralities, knowledge construction, and nurse practitioner competency.
With over 25 years of experience in nursing education, Dr. Schaaf has developed and taught curriculum across undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs. She is a Certified Healthcare Simulation Educator® and a Certified Nurse Educator®, and has successfully mentored numerous students through their DNP projects. Her scholarly work has been presented nationally and internationally, with a focus on cardiology, trauma, interdisciplinary collaboration, and the integration of digital technology in nursing education.

Presentation(s):

• A Vascular Risk Reduction Intervention for People with Post-stroke Executive Function Impairments and Biological Family Members: A Protocol for the Champs-tr Feasibility Trial 1057

  Thursday, October 30, 2025
  10:45 AM - 11:00 AM