Maren Nelson

Assistant Professor, School of Nursing

Maren Nelson joins UP after a decade as a critical care staff nurse, nurse educator, and primary care nurse practitioner. After attaining her bachelor’s in English literature, she spent a year teaching in Shanghai. Upon her return to the U.S., she worked providing aviation and logistical support to the U.S. Department of State in Africa and the Caribbean. Transitioning to a nursing career brought her to UP for her B.S.N. and doctorate of nursing practice, where her research focused primarily on improving patient health literacy and the relationship between patient involvement and clinical outcomes. Working as a full time primary care clinician, her practice improvement work included identifying barriers to and implementing strategies for the successful dissemination of current evidence/best practice to medical providers in a variety of settings. She also worked on identifying barriers to care for patients with diabetes and designing clinical care pathways, including systemic and informatics support. Maren continues to investigate ways to advance healthcare practice though improvement of work place culture and leadership. She is dedicated to a true continuum of care between primary care, specialty care, palliative, and end of life strategies. She enjoys various forms of movement, outdoors if possible, from yoga to roller derby, creating and sharing delicious meals with family and friends, and traveling.