Karen Brown, PhD, RN, CNE, is a clinician educator - assistant professor at The University of New Mexico (UNM) College of Nursing. She is the coordinator for the Nursing Education Concentration in the Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) Program and is currently overseeing the rewriting of the curriculum into a managed online program, with an anticipated go-live date of Spring 2020. Brown has been teaching nurses in academic and community settings since 1982 as both faculty and clinical educator. Her clinical focus has been on the care of oncology patients (inpatient, outpatient, pediatric and adult) since her first nursing job as a nursing assistant in radiation therapy at the University of Michigan in 1976.
 
Comfortable in oncology settings, Brown currently takes Level II nursing students to the UNM Cancer Center to introduce them to oncology nurses, nursing tasks/skills and patients/families. She also teaches an elective Introduction to Oncology Nursing course, a 3-credit class offered to Pre-Licensure Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) and RN to BSN students. She is pleased to report that many students are interested in pursuing oncology as a career path after these class experiences, something new for UNM’s College of Nursing. The final assignment involves interviewing and writing a paper on an oncology nurse and oncology patient/family member. Students have often remarked that this interview and writing assignment has been the most beneficial and transformative activity in their nursing program.
 
Brown has been awarded teaching and practice recognition awards from academic, continuing education and volunteer/philanthropic groups over her career. Her philanthropic activities include being one of the first Virginia Henderson Fellows for Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing (1993) and recently, successfully funding an Endowment at the UNM College of Nursing specifically for New Mexico Nursing Education Consortium faculty needing financial assistance to travel to statewide meetings. She has been a Chair of the American Cancer Society’s 24-hour Relay for Life in academic and practice settings. Brown currently sits on the board of directors for the Gamma Sigma Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International and the Albuquerque Chapter of the Oncology Nursing Society. In the past, she has served on national/international committees and posts for both organizations.
 
Brown received her Doctor of Philosophy in Executive Administration from the University of Utah, her MSN in Nursing Administration from Boston University and her BSN from the University of Michigan. She has been an oncology certified nurse and an advanced oncology certified nurse, and will be sitting for the certification examination for nurse educators this year.