Gary Laustsen, Ph.D.

Professor, School of Nursing & Health Innovations

Gary Laustsen has been a visiting professor at the University of Portland since January 2023. A former high school biology teacher, outdoor educator, and EMT, he transitioned into nursing and received a B.S.N. from Regis University, an M.S.N. with F.N.P. emphasis from the University of Northern Colorado, and a Ph.D. in nursing from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. He has been involved in clinical nursing practice for the past 32 years and currently volunteers as a F.N.P. at the Free Clinic of Southwest Washington in Vancouver. As an R.N. he worked in the ICU and emergency department and as a F.N.P. in clinics for the underserved, emergency departments, rural primary care clinics, and university health centers. He has participated as a nurse in multiple medical mission trips to Mexico and Vietnam. Gary has over 30 years of experience as a nurse educator with positions as clinical instructor and undergraduate and graduate faculty. His areas of scholarship are in the environmental aspects of healthcare and in rural nursing education, practice, and research. He was awarded the 2013 Nurse Practitioner of the Year in Oregon and is a fellow in the American Association of Nurse Practitioners and the American Academy of Nursing. He has participated in multiple professional nursing organizations and is involved with accreditation work for the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education. Gary and his family share the rural life on a small farm with horses, goats, chickens, and large gardens.