Sarah E Schroeder

Sarah E Schroeder is an MSN to PhD student at UNMC’s College of Nursing. She completed her diploma in Nursing from Bryan School of Nursing, followed by her BSN and MSN at UNMC. Sarah is a board-certified Acute Care Nurse Practitioner specializing in Advanced Heart Failure and Mechanical Circulatory Support.


Current credentials and degrees: ACNP-BC, MSN RN, PhD Candidate, AACC
Hometown: Lincoln, NE
Program Start Date: August 2018
Anticipated Graduation Date: December 2022
Research interest: Frailty and Quality of Life in long term Left Ventricular Assist Device patients.
Plans after graduation: Continue adding to the science of frailty and quality of life in LVAD patients.


Why I chose a PhD in nursing:

I tell this story all the time. I remember seeing a social media post about a dual DNP/PhD degree. I swore I would never return to school but have learned over time I am a lifelong learner, and therefore I inquired about this type of degree. This led me down the path of fostering my love for research and here I am today gearing up to finish my dissertation work.

Research/professional interests:

My professional interests include advanced Heart Failure (HF) and End-stage Heart Failure requiring Mechanical Circulatory Support (MCS) Devices (or LVADs). Specifically, within this population, my research focuses include the evaluation and determination of frailty assessment, as well as Quality of Life in MCS patients. I also am working on a lot of other projects right now, including the beginning stages of a multi-center international trial looking at the interface between the HM3 LVAD device and clinical practice, as well as the President of the VAD-C™ certification board to create the first ever VAD-C™ certification exam.

What I like about UNMC:

I feel like I have grown up at UNMC. My current advisor is someone whom I have known professionally and academically for nearly 16 years (which is over half of my nursing career). UNMC seemed like a suitable fit for the completion of my final degree. I continue to be challenged through this path.

Professional memberships:

  • Associate member of American College of Cardiology (AACC)
  • American Association of Heart Failure Nurses (AAHFN)
  • American Heart Association (AHA)
  • International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT)
  • International Consortium of Circulatory Assist Clinicians (ICCAC)
  • American Society of Artificial Implantable Organs (ASAIO)
  • Sigma Theta Tau, and Heart Failure Society of America (HFSA)
  • Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS)

Three things people may not know about me:

  • I have two boys and one will be graduating May 2022 with the intent to swim collegiately at UNO
  • If I could live ANYWHERE, it would be in San Diego, California
  • I love to sing, and have been singing since I was in 4th grade