Dr. Sharon Stager

Areas of Expertise

• Family medicine, naturopathy and nutraceuticals to achieve optimal health status

Education

• B.S. in nursing, Fitchburg State College (1992)
• M.S. in nursing, Duke University School of Nursing (1996)
• Doctor of Nursing Practice, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs (2013)

View My CV

What's My Why?

As an advanced practice nurse for almost 30 years, my passion is to help people achieve their highest level of health and wellness through care, education and example. Throughout my nursing career, I have missioned in oncology and remain entrenched in primary care and women's health. I am passionate about a healthy lifestyle and functional medicine to support well-being. Engaging in naturopathy and functional medicine practices within primary care allows for a balanced approach to health. My research seeks to support the advanced practice nurse in academia and the professional role of nurses. 

Professional Experience

At Salve, I am associate chair of the graduate nursing program and associate professor in nursing, and I teach in the master's and doctoral programs. Remaining active in practice, I work at Wellcare, Inc., an NP lead practice in Rhode Island. My passion for health and wellness, weight management support, and naturopathy led me to launch an entrepreneurial business, In Search for Health, to provide wellness counseling and naturopathy. I am a certified APRN and planning certification for functional medicine.

Selected Publications

Douglass, B, Stager, S.L., Shaw, K., Hite, A., Solecki, S., Stanik-Hutt, J., Tufts, J. (2024). Professional Identity in Nursing: Why It is Important in Graduate Education. Journal of Professional Nursing. In-press

Stager, S., Mitchell, S., Bigley, M., Kelly-Weeder, S., & Fogg, L. (2024). Exploring Clinical Practice Hours in Postbaccalaureate-to-Doctor of Nurse Practitioner Programs. Nurse Educator. 49(1): p 8-12. DOI: 10.1097/NNE.0000000000001506

Zwillinger, J., Wise, B., Pintz, C., Bigley, M., Douglass, B., Kirkland, T., LaManna, S., Mitchell, S., Stager, S., Steed, J. (2023). U.S. Primary Care Provider Needs: An Analysis of Workforce Projections and Policy Implications (ID PPNP-23-05-0024). Policy, Politics, & Nursing Practice

Stager, S L., Douglass, B, Mitchell, S, Wise, B, Buchholz, S. (2022). Traversing academic rank promotion for nurse practitioner faculty. Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners;34, (3), pp. 529-536, doi: 10.1097/JXX.0000000000000685

Rich, B. & Stager, S. (2021). Mindful BALANCE (breathe act learn about ‘now’ care everyday) a pilot project for depressed female adolescents. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing in the Journal of Adolescent and Child Psychiatric Nursing https://doi.org/10.1111/jcap.12308