Karen L. McCrea, DNP, APRN, FNP-C (she/her) is an Associate Professor and Assistant Program Director of Family Nurse Practitioner Programs at Georgetown University’s Berkley School of Nursing. She provides leadership in curriculum development, competency-based education, and instructional innovation, with a focus on aligning programs with AACN Essentials and NONPF competencies. Dr. McCrea mentors faculty across nursing programs in curriculum mapping, course design, and evaluation strategies, and is recognized as a leader in integrating artificial intelligence into nurse practitioner education to enhance student engagement and clinical reasoning.
She teaches across didactic, clinical, and simulation settings and maintains active clinical practice in primary care. Dr. McCrea’s scholarship focuses on underserved and marginalized populations, inclusive pedagogy, and digital storytelling as a strategy to improve healthcare provider attitudes, knowledge, and patient outcomes. She serves as a GUSON Essentials Champion, contributes to institutional and national initiatives, and is actively engaged in advancing health equity and innovation in graduate nursing education.
Dr. McCrea’s recent work centers on advancing competency-based nurse practitioner education through innovative curriculum design, scaffolded clinical evaluation, and technology-enhanced teaching. She led development of a fully mapped FNP curriculum aligned with AACN Essentials, NONPF competencies, and school values, and has created scaffolded clinical assignments and preceptor evaluations that strengthen rigor, consistency, and practice readiness across the program.
Her featured scholarship and innovation also include the integration of digital storytelling and AI-enhanced learning strategies into graduate nursing education. This work includes educational initiatives focused on substance use disorder and gender-diverse populations, as well as development of AI-supported simulations and learning tools to improve student engagement, remediation, and clinical reasoning. Her scholarly and educational efforts reflect a sustained commitment to improving care for underserved populations while advancing inclusive, forward-thinking NP education.
Academic Appointment(s)
- Primary
- Associate Professor, SON - Nursing Academic Department