Karen Weir, NP
Karen Weir is a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner with more than 15 years of experience in healthcare, dedicated to improving access to quality care for underserved and vulnerable populations. Based in Gallup, New Mexico, she currently works with TeamHealth providing post-acute and long-term care services for rehabilitation and skilled nursing patients. Her clinical work includes managing chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and congestive heart failure, while also supporting patients recovering from surgeries, falls, and other complex medical needs. Known for her compassionate approach and commitment to patient advocacy, Karen has built a career focused on delivering holistic, patient-centered care.
Karen’s healthcare journey began in Brooklyn, New York, where she started working as a Certified Nursing Assistant before steadily advancing through the nursing profession. After serving honorably in the military beginning in 2001, including time stationed in South Korea, she utilized her GI Bill benefits to pursue her nursing education. She earned her Licensed Practical Nurse credential from Medvance Institute in Florida, followed by her Registered Nurse and Master of Science in Nursing degrees from South University. She became a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner in 2018 and has since dedicated herself to addressing healthcare shortages in underserved communities. In 2020, Karen relocated to New Mexico during the COVID-19 pandemic to support Native American populations and help meet the region’s critical need for primary care providers.
In addition to her clinical practice, Karen is deeply passionate about nursing education and mentorship. She serves as a nursing instructor for a local campus affiliated with University of New Mexico, helping prepare the next generation of healthcare professionals. She is also expanding her impact into hospice care with Compass Hospice while pursuing a doctoral degree in nursing education through Wilmington University. Motivated by both the nursing shortage and the growing need for strong educators, Karen is committed to shaping future nurses while continuing to provide compassionate care to patients across New Mexico.
• University of Phoenix - A.S. in Liberal Arts
• Medvance Institute, Stuart, Florida - LPN, 2009
• South University, West Palm Beach, Florida - RN, 2012
• South University, Savannah, Georgia - M.S.N., Family Nurse Practitioner, October 2017
• Wilmington University - Doctorate in Nursing with specialization in nursing education
• FNP-C
• American Association of Nurse Practitioners
• National League of Nursing
Karen is a nursing instructor at the University of New Mexico, where she teaches nursing students. She uses real-life clinical experiences, such as cases of young patients dying from liver failure due to alcoholism, as teaching examples to help students understand the serious consequences of health conditions and the importance of patient education. She is passionate about addressing the shortage of nursing faculty and is currently pursuing her doctorate in nursing with a specialization in nursing education to continue making a difference academically.
Areas of Specialization/Expertise
- post-acute care
- long-term care and rehabilitation
- management of chronic diseases
- nursing education
- hospice care
What do you enjoy most about practicing medicine?
What I find most rewarding is when I have patients who may come into the rehab facility after a procedure, or they may have to get their strength back working with the physical therapy team, and they get to go home and get discharged and go home to their family. That's pretty rewarding, and that helps me to know that patients can make progress and they don't have to be changed over to a long-term status because they don't have help at home. I also find it rewarding when I can help patients who may be homeless and have healthcare problems that require attention. As a result of their injury or change in health status, they become debilitated and they don't have any place to go or have any support, so they become residents for us eventually. Taking care of patients in that aspect can also be rewarding, because at least I know the patient won't be on the street or they won't be in a place where they can't get medications or get some kind of medical attention to manage their disease processes that they may be going through.