By Karen Villarreal

RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TEXAS – MAY 15, 2025 – Six doctoral hoods, six new Doctors of Nurse Practice.

On Wednesday, May 14, UTRGV held a hooding ceremony for its doctoral graduates, celebrating, among others, the six members of the second cohort of the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree program.  

Each of the six DNPs in the 2025 cohort developed a “quality improvement project” that made an impact on an underserved or vulnerable community. 

Dr. Andrya Rivera-Burciaga, who taught the cohort in their Master of Science in Nursing program, said they grew in passion and confidence over the course of their studies to lead these projects.  

“It’s obvious they care a lot about their Rio Grande Valley community, which adds so much value to the populations that they serve,” Rivera-Burciaga said. “Many have been with us from the beginning and waited until UTRGV launched the DNP program to come back to school.” 

Now, the graduates are launching their own clinics, implementing lasting protocols, and teaching about their specializations in diabetes, childhood obesity and high-risk breast cancer.   

One of the new DNPs, Dr. Doris Padilla, said she feels empowered to be the kind of leader in rural healthcare the South Texas region needs her to be.  

“With the doctoral degree, you learn to make systemic changes that advocate for entire patient populations,” said Padilla, who was born and raised in McAllen. “Underserved areas face so many challenges. I want to be a part of the change.” 

LASTING CHANGES IN RURAL HEALTH 

Padilla collaborated with other nurse practitioners and a physician in the family practice clinic where she was working for her quality improvement project. Her focus was on childhood obesity among Hispanic children and teens, a pivotal issue in the Valley.  

After seeing the benefits of teaching their young patients about limiting screen time and exercising every day, the family practice clinic implemented the intervention as a permanent resource.  

“They were so happy that they adopted new habits. And when you help one child, they usually have a sibling, friend or cousin that they’ll share that excitement with,” she said. “Being a part of that is incredible.”  

KIDNEY STUDIES, CLOSE TO THE HEART

Dr. Norma Washington, also a graduate of the second cohort, was working as a nurse at a local hospital when she found herself on dialysis from lupus complications. She decided to use the time during her treatments – five hours, three times a week – to pursue a doctoral degree.  

“Having something to look forward to kept me moving day-to-day,” said Washington, who is from San Juan.  “I do have my kidneys, which I’m thankful for. And my DNP project is on chronic kidney disease, which obviously is close to my heart.” 

In talking to fellow dialysis patients, she found that Medicare only covers a patient for a few years after a transplant, so many patients make the risky decision to ration or stop taking their medication. 

“The transplant ends up failing and they’re back into dialysis – which costs nearly $8,000 per treatment,” she said. “But a screening test is less than $20.” 

Her project studied the need for guidelines to help improve screening rates for chronic kidney disease (CKD), so that patients don’t reach the point of needing dialysis.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has been undergoing a multistep review process to develop screening recommendations since 2023.  

 “It would make a big difference if providers can intervene earlier,” she said. 

EXTENDING SCREENING STANDARDS 

Dr. Patricia Padilla was 19 when she started her career in the medical field as an ER clerk, and has since worked in home health, wound care, telemetry and NICU. 

“I love what I do. I'm not going to say nursing is a piece of cake, because it's not,” Padilla said. “But I find that being there for my patients is very rewarding.”   

For her DNP’s Quality Improvement Project, she used her position as lead clinician at a high risk breast cancer clinic to extend genetic testing to patients outside the standard guidelines to all interested individuals.  

After testing approximately 80 patients from September through May, they were able to capture about six patients who would not have gotten tested because of their age.  

“I am very blessed that the physician I work for was supportive, and now it’s protocol in our office,” Padilla said.  

CONTINUING THE LEGACY  

After nursing in various areas of expertise, several of UTRGV’s recent DNP graduates hope to join the UTRGV faculty and share their knowledge and expertise with incoming nursing students.  

Washington said she feels she has been teaching all along, as nurses also educate their patients.  

“The goal is to empower patients to learn to take ownership of their health,” she said. “I feel like I’m at a point now where I can contribute at the university level.”  

Padilla, who also aspires to teach, said she encourages the medical assistants she works with to go back to school.   

“I take a little pride in the fact that three are going to be graduating soon,” she said. “I appreciate that the UTRGV DNP program is right here, in our backyard. It's a very valuable program, and it's convenient.” 

To learn more about the UTRGV School of Nursing programs, visit www.utrgv.edu/nursing.